AMSG aims to maximise the benefits for Africans from Africa’s vast mineral resources.

Alake was first elected in 2024 on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum, FMF, and later re-elected at the 2026 Annual General Meeting, AGM, of the group, which was held on the sidelines of the same conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

President Tinubu described Alake’s re-election as a clear vote of confidence in his visionary leadership, steadfast commitment, and strategic advocacy for Africa’s minerals sector.

The president noted that under Alake’s chairmanship, the AMSG had continued to provide a strong, united voice for African countries in advancing collaboration, safeguarding mineral resources, and positioning Africa as a key player in the global energy transition and the critical minerals value chain.

President Tinubu commended the minister for aligning the objectives of the AMSG with Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly the drive to unlock the nation’s vast solid minerals potential, attract sustainable investment, create jobs, and ensure that mineral wealth translated into tangible socio-economic benefits for Africans.

“I congratulate Dele Alake for sustaining the confidence and trust of his colleagues across Africa, who have renewed his leadership of their forum. His commitment and pan-African vision to ensure our continent derives the greatest benefits from our mineral resources are commendable. As Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, he had led a reform agenda that is transforming the sector into a major contributor to our national economy,” the president said.

The president assured Alake of the federal government’s continued support as he leads the AMSG to deepen cooperation among African nations, strengthen institutional frameworks, and promote transparency, sustainability, and inclusiveness in the minerals sector.

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The group is a continental ministerial forum of African Ministers responsible for minerals and mining, committed to coordinated action aimed at maximising value addition and beneficiation from Africa’s vast mineral resources.

Alake was first unanimously elected as the pioneer chairman of the AMSG in 2024 on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum, FMF.

He was re-elected at the 2026 Annual General Meeting, AGM, of the group, held on the sidelines of the same conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

As part of efforts to strengthen its institutional framework, the AMSG approved the creation of additional leadership positions, including Vice-Chairman, Deputy Secretary-General, and Financial Secretary.

The forum further resolved that the positions be equitably distributed across Africa’s sub-regions to promote inclusion and regional balance.

While the positions of chairman and vice-chairman are elective and reserved for serving ministers, other positions are appointed by member states to which they are zoned.

Under the new leadership structure, Nigeria’s Alake continues as chairman of the 24-member forum, representing West Africa.

The Minister of Mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Hon. Louis Watum Kabamba, was elected vice-chairman, representing Central Africa.

The position of Secretary-General remains with Uganda (East Africa), Mauritania was appointed Deputy Secretary-General (North Africa), while South Africa was zoned the position of Financial Secretary.

The AGM also ratified a two-year tenure for the newly elected executive committee and agreed that zoned positions belong to member countries, such that where a serving minister is replaced, the successor automatically assumes the role.

In his acceptance speech, Alake expressed gratitude to his colleagues for the renewed confidence reposed in him, stressing the urgent need for African nations to work collaboratively to unlock the continent’s economic potentials through solid minerals development.

He called on member states to agree on minimum financial contributions and to refine the group’s budgeting framework to strengthen its operational effectiveness.

“Once member states contribute, accountability will naturally follow. This will enhance transparency and strengthen the credibility of the AMSG before the global community,” the minister stated.

The AGM further resolved to hold quarterly ministerial meetings and ratified the establishment of standing committees, including Legal, Institutional Affairs & Human Resources; Sustainability and Responsible Mining; Finance, Budget & Resource Mobilisation, among others.

It was also agreed that steps be taken towards hosting a global minerals conference in Africa, similar to the FMF.

Speaking earlier at a Leadership Roundtable themed “Africa: Unlocking Infrastructure Funding for Copper-Belt Production”—held on the sidelines of the FMF and attended by African Ministers of Minerals, development partners and private-sector stakeholders— Alake emphasized that mineral production alone could not deliver lasting economic transformation without reliable infrastructure, coordinated policies and deliberate value-addition strategies.

He cited the Lobito Corridor as a model of what was achievable when rail, ports, energy systems and policy alignment worked in synergy.

He posited that similar opportunities existed across the continent including the Lagos–Abidjan Corridor linking Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire; the Walvis Bay Corridor connecting Southern Africa’s mining regions to global markets; the Dar es Salaam and Central Corridors serving East and Central Africa amongst others.

According to the minister: “The real question is not whether Africa has corridors, but whether these corridors are being financed, governed and structured to support industrial growth, regional integration and long-term stability. What matters is how financing is designed to reduce risk, attract private capital and sustain commercial viability while advancing national and regional development objectives.”

Alake emphasised that unlocking capital at scale required addressing issues such as bankable and enforceable offtake arrangements; predictable and harmonised cross-border regulatory frameworks; alignment of rail, port, power and industrial planning; and clear pathways for processing, smelting, logistics services and industrial clusters along these corridors.

He added that the broader vision of the AMSG is to ensure that Africa’s mineral infrastructure is strategically designed, responsibly financed and efficiently managed in a rapidly evolving global environment—not to discourage investment, but to ensure it aligns with long-term stability, transparency and shared economic prosperity.

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The minister made this assertion while delivering his key note address at the mining  conference organised by the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, on Monday.

He said not less than three firms had requested for the services of the rapid response corps between 8 a.m and 10 a.m., the day before.

He said in response to the demands, the Mining Marshals are currently in Osun, Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa states, resulting in the arrest of some culprits.

Emphasising that the Mining Marshals were the coercive component of the administration’s carrot and stick approach to combating illegal mining undermining security in the sector, he announced that the persuasive component which entailed artisanal miners forming co-operatives to legalise their operations, had yielded fruits as 152 new co-operatives came on board between September last year and last month.

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Giving a progress report of the implementation of the Seven-Point Agenda, he unveiled on assumption of office to the select audience of stakeholders, Alake  declared that with the ongoing efforts to sanitise and reposition the mining sector, Nigeria was poised to become a top global mining destination.

Alake commended the NIPSS for prioritising the mining sector and appreciating its strategic value in President Bola Tinubu’s plans to diversify the economy.

“As the foremost government think-tank, this stakeholders’ roundtable will enrich NIPSS analysis of the sector and recommendations on the steps to be taken to enable the sector deliver on its mandate,” he said.

Highlighting other achievements of the  agenda, the minister revealed that processes for enacting legislations for the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation was already underway in the National Assembly, through the House Committee on Solid Minerals Development.

“We are working with consultants to ensure the smooth emergence of a corporation which will be private sector driven. We are looking at a corporation with a structure that has 50% equity for the private sector; 25% for members of the public; 25% for the federal government. Our vision is to erect private-sector led enduring structures for the corporation that will foster efficiency, outlive the present administration, and consequently wean it from future government interference,” the minister added.

Emphasising the imperative of generating comprehensive data of mineral deposits to derisk the sector, Alake stated that in collaboration with the World Bank, an aeromagnetic survey had been conducted across the country which had given a superficial analysis of mineral spread and deposits, stressing that a more detailed exploration was being pursued to enable investors make informed investment decisions.

“The importance of data for investors cannot be over-emphasised. With accurate data, investors will be able to project the commercial value of mineral deposits and make informed investment decisions. We have signed an MOU with German firm, GeoScan GmBN, and we are making strenuous efforts to partner with scientific and data-driven agencies, renowned globally, to be able to generate the requisite big geo-data that will attract international big players,” the minister asserted.

Speaking further, Dr. Alake noted that other aspects of the roadmap including the revised guidelines for Community Development Agreement, CDA, which made it mandatory to get the consent of host communities before application for mining licenses was already operational whilst revocation of dormant licenses and the inclusion of plans for value addition alongside application for licenses is now a federal government policy.

According to the minister, efforts to market the mining sector was yielding results as global mining company, Glencore recently expressed interest in Nigeria’s mining sector while advocacy for value addition led to his election as chairman of African Minerals Strategy Group, AMSG, – a forum of African Ministers of Solid Minerals/Mineral Resources.

“My objective as the minister is to work to ensure that Nigeria becomes a global mining destination for the first time in history and we are working to make this happen by alleviating bottlenecks and addressing salient challenges that have plagued the sector for decades,” Alake asserted.

The minister charged NIPSS to utilise the summit to synthesise suggestions and advance recommendations that would assist the federal government in sustaining the development of the mining sector.

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Giving the goodwill message at the International Women’s Day Forum 2024 organised by the Women Miners Association, the Minister lauded the organisers for putting the progress and plight of women in the mining sector on the front-burner, emphasising the importance of investing in the development of women for leadership in industry and governance.

“We live in a world in which no one, no gender must be left behind. This is the logic of progressive transformation that we desire.

“The African Minerals Strategy Group is committed to empowering women with appropriate skills to enable them participate in the mining sector value chain, from exploration and extraction to processing and commerce. “We support access to technical training in mining for our young women: we support start-up financial assistance for women mining entrepreneurs, and we champion the inclusion of women in the leadership of regulatory agencies,” he added.

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Speaking further, Dr. Alake revealed that the AMSG under his leadership will initiate annual studies on the progress Africa is making in the aforementioned areas and publish findings on subsequent International Women’s Day.

He charged the African continent to be resolute in its resolve to make value addition the strategy for wealth retention, stressing that African Ministers of Mining were determined to put in place policies which discouraged export of raw materials and encourage industrial processing of minerals into semi-finished goods for exports.

” This will reduce the obnoxious legacy of unequal exchange, which African scholars see as the manifestation of neo-colonialism. Let us elevate the quality of commerce with our trading partners by offering more value. The faithful execution of this policy will provide more jobs and deepen capital formation in the mining industry,” the minister asserted.

It will be recalled that on the sidelines of the “Invest in African Mining Indaba,” in South-Africa, Alake was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the African Minerals Strategy Group, AMSG, a body of African Ministers of Solid Minerals/Mineral Resources championing value addition and maximum beneficiation from the continent’s vast mineral resources for the development of member countries.

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