ACCRA: THE Minister for Minerals Anthony Peter Mavunde has urged African countries to abandon isolated approaches and pool their efforts in managing and developing mineral resources to promote industrialisation, create jobs and accelerate economic growth across the continent.
Mavunde made the remarks during a ministerial panel discussion involving Tanzania, Nigeria and Liberia at the international Mining in Motion conference, being held in Accra, Ghana, from October 19 to 21, 2026. The discussion was held under the theme, “From Vision to Delivery: Making the African Mining Vision Work for Member States.”
He said the time had come for African countries to set aside their differences and work together to implement joint strategies for developing the mining sector.
Mavunde noted that Africa holds more than 32 per cent of the world’s known critical mineral resources. However, much of this wealth is still exported outside the continent without sufficient value addition, denying African countries opportunities to build industries, create employment and increase government revenues.
Highlighting Tanzania’s efforts, Mavunde said legal reforms introduced in 2017 had strengthened mineral resource management and increased government participation in the sector. He added that measures to restrict the export of raw minerals had encouraged domestic value addition.
He said that under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Tanzania now has more than eight gold refineries and over 16 processing and refining plants for base metals.
Mavunde added that the mining sector contributes 10.3 per cent of Tanzania’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while small-scale miners account for approximately 40 per cent of total mineral production. He attributed these achievements to deliberate government measures aimed at strengthening the sector.
On regional cooperation, Mavunde identified Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique as countries with opportunities to collaborate in developing graphite resources, mineral processing and policy harmonisation.
He said such cooperation could help establish an integrated value chain that delivers greater economic benefits to citizens of the three countries.
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