The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and Zimbabwe have unveiled ambitious strategies to accelerate mineral beneficiation and reduce reliance on raw mineral exports. The announcements were made during the Ministerial Forum at African Mining Week 2025 in Cape Town on Thursday.
The three nations outlined national initiatives designed to drive local processing, generate jobs, and stimulate industrial growth—signaling a continental shift toward value addition in Africa’s mining sector.
DRC Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba said the country is prioritizing special economic zones to attract investment and simplify fiscal procedures. “We have a one-stop shop removing fiscal complications and making it easier for industry participation to put capital and technology to drive the beneficiation agenda,” he said. Kabamba added that the DRC is deploying artificial intelligence to enhance exploration and production, particularly in lithium and copper. “We want to use advanced technology to unlock lithium potential. We are also second to Chile in copper production and we want to be first.”
Zimbabwe’s Mines Minister Winston Chitando revealed plans for a new base metal refinery to be commissioned within two years, leveraging the country’s position as home to the world’s second-largest platinum reserves. He also announced the development of three industrial parks in Hwange, Beitbridge, and near Harare to support downstream processing. “We want value addition making economic sense. Exporting ore all the way to the port and shipping it internationally does not make economic sense since we are a landlocked country,” Chitando said.
Nigeria’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, Yusuf Farouk Yabo, said the country is targeting a $1 billion mining economy by 2030. “We need leadership, institutions and the right policies—hence we are revamping the Mining Act of 2011 to ensure the needs of the private sector are catered for,” he noted. Nigeria is also investing in the digitization of mining processes, with a focus on data accessibility and mineral traceability. “We want to ensure traceability from mining to monetization, with Nigerian minerals set to come from two sources: license holders or a seller and supplier buying from ASM players who are traced and formalized,” Yabo explained.
The initiatives from the DRC, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe highlight a growing push across Africa to capture greater value from its mineral wealth through beneficiation and industrialization.
Source:Africa Publicity
