President John Dramani Mahama has urged African countries to take advantage of growing global demand for critical minerals by investing in local processing and manufacturing to boost their economies.

He said the continent must move away from exporting raw minerals and focus on adding value to its natural resources to create jobs, strengthen industries and increase its share of the global market.

Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Mining in Motion Conference at the Destiny Arena on Monday, October 19 2026, President Mahama stressed the need for African countries to take greater ownership of their mineral resources and use them to drive industrial development.

“For minerals, this means owning our own resources, extracting them responsibly, and processing them domestically and competitively. It also means linking our mineral value chains to industries that our economies need," he said.

“The transition to cleaner energy has intensified demand for critical minerals. Africa must seize this opportunity to secure a stronger position in manufacturing, supported by skills, technology, and reliable supply networks,” he added.

President Mahama noted that the global shift towards cleaner energy had increased demand for critical minerals, creating an opportunity for African countries to move into higher-value activities beyond mining and exporting raw materials.

He said Ghana was taking steps to strengthen local value addition by linking mineral extraction to domestic processing and industrial production.

Among the initiatives he highlighted were the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC).

GIADEC is leading efforts to develop an integrated aluminium industry using Ghana’s bauxite resources, while GIISDEC is working to develop the country’s iron ore resources to support local steel production.

According to the President, these initiatives are important to ensuring that Ghana derives greater economic benefits from its mineral wealth instead of depending largely on the export of unprocessed resources.

He emphasised that developing local processing facilities and manufacturing industries would help African countries retain more value from their natural resources.

President Mahama also highlighted the importance of investing in skills, technology and reliable supply networks to support the continent’s industrial ambitions.

He maintained that with growing global demand for minerals used in the clean energy transition, Africa had an opportunity to strengthen its position in global supply chains and accelerate its industrialisation drive.

NA/VPO

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