Beyond extraction: turning Africa’s mineral wealth into African prosperity
From Guinea’s refinery ambitions to Uganda’s shared processing model, discussions this week in Cape Town at African Mining Week 2026 have explored how national policies and cross-border cooperation can deepen the continent’s industrial capacity, and the infrastructure, investment and trust needed to deliver it.
Processing more of Africa’s mineral wealth on the continent can build stronger industries, create jobs, and drive economic and social development, government and industry leaders told attendees at African Mining Week (AMW 2026) in Cape Town across the past three days. Export restrictions, refinery investments, and regional partnerships emerged as different routes towards a shared ambition: keeping more value in African economies.
Guinea’s plans illustrate the scale of that ambition. Speaking during a ministerial panel, Daouda Diakité, Senior Adviser to its Minister of Mines and Geology, said the country aimed to have five operational alumina refineries by 2030, with three already under construction.
“Simandou 2040 is a strategy to shift from being a raw material exporter to developing a strong processing base that can sustain the country’s downstream sector,” he said.
The strategy connects Guinea’s mineral resources with investment in electricity, manufacturing and downstream infrastructure. Alongside alumina refining, the country is pursuing domestic steel production linked to Simandou and working to operationalise a gold refinery. Other discussions at AMW 2026, held from 14–16 October in Cape Town, examined how governments are using regulation to encourage that transition.
Tatenda Mafuriranwa, Partner for Audit, Risk and ESG Advisory at HLB Zambia, highlighted Zimbabwe’s planned prohibition on lithium concentrate exports from 1 January 2027.
“A number of investors have already moved in to support this initiative. They are already setting up processing plants for lithium,” he said.
Zambia is also strengthening local participation, with procurement reserved for domestic suppliers expected to increase from 20% to 40% over five years. Such measures extend the value-retention agenda to the businesses supplying mining operations.
Retaining processing income also depends on reliable domestic capacity.
Mafuriranwa said maintenance at Zambia’s largest smelter in 2025 had resulted in more than 270,000 tonnes of mineral material being exported without domestic processing. “If these had been processed in the country, that would have been income to the country."
In a separate discussion on financing and infrastructure, Molebogeng Mazibuko, Associate Vice President and Mining Lead at Africa Finance Corporation, stressed the connections between individual investments and wider industrial development.
“When we look at a project, we don’t invest in a project in isolation, we consider what the enabling infrastructure is,” she said.
Reliable electricity, transport links and policy certainty were recurring priorities. Development Bank of Southern Africa Head of Project Finance Lungile Tom also highlighted technical skills, calling for collaboration between governments, businesses and educational institutions.
Egypt’s Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries, Mohamed Zada, outlined opportunities for cross-border investment in power plants, ports and mineral transport networks, linking African processing ambitions with the infrastructure needed to bring finished products to global markets.
Regional coordination can also help countries match processing capacity with mineral supply. “We need policies introduced to ensure not everyone builds processing plants, but that there is regional coordination and beneficiation,” said Shirley Webber, Managing Principal for Coverage and Head of Resources and Energy at ABSA.
Uganda offered a practical example. Monica Musenero Masanza described arrangements allowing neighbouring countries to bring gold into Uganda tax-free for toll processing.
“Rather than every nation enduring the high cost of building refineries, Uganda offers a regional solution,” she said.
Shared facilities can retain processing activity within Africa while giving producers access to capacity beyond their borders. Rand Refinery’s established supply chains illustrate those connections: half its gold doré comes from African mines outside South Africa.
At Thursday’s Africa Gold Forum, its Chief Technical, Governance and Sustainability Officer, Nhlanhla Terance Mashobane Nkosi, highlighted investment in fingerprint testing, isotopic confirmation and traceability technology, alongside the importance of integrating artisanal and small-scale miners into formal supply chains.
For regional processing hubs, demonstrating where minerals originate and how they are produced is part of building trusted supply chains.
Cooperation also gained an institutional platform through the African National Mining Companies Forum, launched by Energy Capital & Power and the Africa Minerals Strategy Group. “It marks a new beginning for Africa that would deliver the new vision of African mining: beneficiation, jobs and national mining companies working in partnership,” said AMSG Chief of Staff Patrick Mulindwa Lubega.
He identified opportunities for knowledge exchange, shared infrastructure and stronger negotiating capacity, with national mining companies complementing private investment.
Malawi Mining Investment Company offered a practical example, describing work with joint-venture partners to improve geological information and project preparation, helping reduce investment uncertainty.
The broader test will be what these policies and investments deliver: skilled employment, stronger African businesses and industrial expertise that give the continent a greater share of the value its minerals generate.
