FG Pushes Lagos-Dakar Minerals Corridor to Boost Africa’s Mineral Value Chain

The Federal Government has proposed the establishment of a Lagos-Dakar Minerals Processing Corridor as part of efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and unlock Africa’s vast mineral wealth through local processing and value addition.

The proposal was presented by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, during the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chain and Beneficiation: Pathways for African Transformation, organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The forum brought together ministers responsible for mining, energy, industry, natural resources and the green economy from more than 20 African countries, alongside representatives of development finance institutions, international banks and mining companies.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Lara Owoeye-Wise, Alake urged African nations to move beyond exporting raw minerals and instead develop coordinated regional value chains capable of generating greater economic benefits.

He proposed a West African minerals processing corridor stretching from Lagos to Dakar, modelled after the Lobito Corridor in Central and Southern Africa.

Alake said the initiative would enable countries to specialise in processing different mineral resources while sharing infrastructure, investment risks and the economic gains of mineral development.

He also advocated the adoption of the Pan-African Resource Reporting Code, arguing that Africa must establish its own mineral reporting standards instead of relying on foreign assessment systems.

According to the minister, greater regional cooperation would help African countries maximise the value of their mineral resources and reduce dependence on external markets.

He further noted that intra-African trade currently accounts for only about 16 per cent, compared to approximately 60 per cent in Asia and 70 per cent in Europe, stressing the need for stronger economic integration.

AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah also called for increased African ownership of the continent’s mineral resources, highlighting the contradiction between Africa’s enormous mineral potential and the limited investment flowing into the sector.

The forum adopted the Abidjan Declaration, which places financing at the centre of Africa’s mineral transformation agenda. Under the declaration, the AfDB pledged to mobilise funding, reduce investment risks, support critical infrastructure and accelerate the development of sustainable mineral value chains across the continent.