Dr Comfort Asokoro‑Ogaji, executive director of Women in Mining Africa (WiM‑Africa), told delegates at the Shanghai Metals Expo 2026 that African nations are forfeiting billions of dollars by lacking control over the pricing of their mineral resources. Speaking during a round‑table on “Eastern Pricing 2.0: Integrating Futures, Physical Markets, Industry and Finance for the Next Stage of Global Metals Pricing,” she urged governments to develop the capacity needed to influence global mineral prices.
Asokoro‑Ogaji highlighted Africa’s “strategic deposits of copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese, gold and other critical minerals” but warned that the continent’s influence on the international systems that set prices remains limited. She argued that owning mineral wealth does not automatically translate into economic power, noting that many African producers lack reliable market information, processing facilities, finance and access to international trading networks.
She identified five key areas that require urgent attention:
- Stronger mineral market intelligence to provide accurate price, buyer and production data.
- Improved testing, certification, standardisation and traceability of mineral quality.
- Investment in local processing facilities to move beyond raw‑material exports.
- Better access to trade finance, working capital and secure payment systems.
- Inclusive participation of women‑led enterprises throughout the mineral value chain.
Asokoro‑Ogaji called for regional collaboration to build specialised processing industries and strengthen African mineral value chains. She also advocated deeper Nigeria‑Africa‑China cooperation in areas such as mineral processing, laboratory development, responsible sourcing, professional training, investment readiness and direct access to international buyers, citing WiM‑Africa’s strategic partnership with Shanghai Metals Market as a conduit for linking African women‑led businesses with global market intelligence and commercial opportunities.
“Africa has mineral power. It is time we built the market power to match,” she said, emphasizing that women’s participation is an economic competitiveness issue, not merely a question of gender representation.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
