Morocco Calls for African Mining Shift from Raw Exports to Industrial Value Chains

Africa needs to move beyond extracting minerals and exporting them in raw or lightly processed form if the continent is to capture more of the economic value created by its mineral wealth, industry leaders said at the International Mining Congress Morocco 2026.

Opening the third edition of the congress in Rabat, Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, said the country was pursuing an integrated industrial model rooted in Africa while remaining connected to global value chains.

The approach places greater emphasis on responsible mining, traceability, sustainable finance and developing more value from Africa’s mineral resources.

Benali said Africa’s geological potential was considerable, but the continent needed to connect its complementary resources, processing capabilities, energy, infrastructure, technology, skills and financing.

The objective is to build industrial networks capable of competing in international markets rather than leaving much of the value generated by African minerals to companies operating elsewhere.

That challenge is becoming increasingly important as demand rises for critical minerals used in energy, technology and infrastructure.

Mohammed Cherrat, president of Morocco’s Federation of the Mineral Industry, said Africa’s mineral industry needed to be viewed as a much broader system encompassing exploration, extraction, processing, refining, energy, infrastructure, technology, skills, financing and innovation.

For African mining countries, that represents a significant shift in thinking.

A copper deposit, lithium project or cobalt mine can generate export revenue through the sale of concentrate or ore. But processing, refining and manufacturing can create additional economic activity before the material reaches its final market.

That can mean more industrial jobs, demand for local suppliers, technology development and opportunities for African companies to participate in international supply chains.

CGEM President Mehdi Tazi said the energy transition and expansion of digital technologies, semiconductors and energy infrastructure are driving demand for minerals including copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel.

Yet a large proportion of Africa’s mineral resources continue to leave the continent in raw or lightly processed form before being refined and incorporated into industrial products elsewhere.

The question, he said, is how much of that additional value Africa can retain and develop domestically.

Morocco is positioning itself as one of the potential industrial hubs through which that transformation could take place.

The country’s location provides connections between North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel and European markets, while its industrial infrastructure and trade links provide a platform for attracting investment into processing and manufacturing.

Recent investment is already moving in that direction.

In July, the African Development Bank approved a €100 million loan for Gotion Power Morocco to support an integrated lithium iron phosphate battery gigafactory in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra free trade zone.

The project is expected to begin with production capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours, with plans to eventually reach 100 gigawatt-hours. The AfDB also plans to mobilise an additional €141 million from financial partners.

The proposed facility illustrates what a more integrated African mineral value chain could look like.

Instead of stopping at the extraction of minerals, the value chain can extend into materials processing, battery manufacturing and other industrial applications.

For African mining countries, the model raises an important question about where future investment should be concentrated.

New mines remain essential because they provide the raw materials required by growing industries. But without sufficient processing capacity, much of the economic opportunity can continue to move offshore.

Developing those capabilities will require significant investment in electricity, transport infrastructure, technical skills, industrial parks, finance and regulatory systems.

It will also require cooperation between African countries.

No single country necessarily possesses every mineral, processing capability, energy resource or industrial skill required to build a complete value chain.

Regional cooperation could allow countries to combine their respective strengths and create larger industrial markets.

The discussions in Rabat therefore point towards a broader vision for African mining.

The objective is not simply to extract more minerals.

It is to create an ecosystem in which exploration leads to mining, mining feeds processing, processing supports manufacturing and manufacturing connects African businesses to global markets.

For a continent expected to play an increasingly important role in supplying the world’s critical minerals, the ability to retain more value from those resources could become just as important as the size of the mineral deposits themselves.

Africa has the resources.

The next challenge is building the industrial capacity to capture more of what they are worth.