Press release N°293/2014

African Union Commission consults African Geological Experts on the implementation of the African Minerals Geoscience Initiative (AMGI)

27 October 2014 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The African Minerals Geoscience Initiative (AMGI) consultative meeting kicked off today at the African Union Commission headquarters. Organized by the Department of Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission with the support of the World Bank Group, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Minerals Development Center (UNECA/AMDC), the two-day meeting will ensure that AMGI responds to the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) specifically under Programme Cluster 2 of the Implementation Action Plan of the AMV. This Cluster of the AMV Implementation Action Plan “Building a Sustainable Future for Africa’s Extractive Industry: From Vision to Action”, focuses on improving the geological; and Mineral information systems.

The main goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive knowledge of Africa’s mineral endowment and the expected result is to develop and obtain improved geological and mineral information systems to underpin investment in exploration and mining development. Participants include AU Member States at senior officials level namely experts responsible for geological information systems at the national level, selected Geological Survey Organisation (GSO) representatives, officials from Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and other experts.

The African Minerals Geoscience Initiative (AMGI) also called the “Billion Dollar Map”, is a pan-African initiative under the leadership of the African Union Commission for the collection, consolidation, interpretation and effective dissemination of national and regional geodata through a geo-portal, thereby increasing accurate and updated geo-scientific data available in public domain. It aims to bring 380 million dollars worth of investment into the organisation and interpretation of geological information from Africa. This would be done with the ultimate goal of seeking to facilitate broad-based governance changes in the mineral and other downstream and side-stream sectors, including: (i) improved licensing processes and procedures that efficiently leverage the natural resource wealth of countries; (ii) improved spatial planning, infrastructure development, forest and wildlife conservation through the use of regional resource corridors; and (iii) sustainable development policies for natural resources management.

In his opening statement, the Acting UNECA/AMDC Coordinator, Dr. Kojo Busia, recalled that the Africa Mining Vision was adopted by African Heads of State and Government in 2009 and a critical constraint identified is that “Most African states lack basic geological mapping or, at best, are poorly mapped.” He pointed out that the Action Plan for Implementing the AMV specifically addresses geology and mining information systems including the need for strengthening geological survey capacities and undertaking cross border and regional mapping initiatives. “Recently the African Minerals Development Centre with over 30 leading minerals and development experts from across Africa and beyond, prepared the Country Mining Visions Guidance document that sets out how Member States can domesticate the AMV through a participatory and consultative Country Mining Vision process. Again geology and mineral information systems feature prominently”, he emphasized. “AMGI is stated as being a part of the AMV. However, the AMV is not a smorgasbord where data can be treated separately from other minerals and development issues. As such, the context in which AMGI addresses geological data needs to be considered”, he mentioned.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Hussein Hassan, Head of Industry Division and Acting Director for the Department of Trade and Industry recalled the objective of the meeting and underscored the need for African Union Member States to consider geological data, including for example, governance, policy, licensing, revenue, upstream and downstream linkages, planning and development. “Ideally, AMGI would engage countries that have produced, or are committed to producing, Country Mining Visions (CMVs) to ensure that the greatest possible development benefits are realised from the data collected and disseminated as part of AMGI”, he stressed. He finally thanked the participants wishing them fruitful deliberations.

The outcomes of the meeting will be tabled at the upcoming 1st Extra-Ordinary Session of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development (CAMRMRD), scheduled on 22 – 26 November 2014 in Livingston and Victoria falls (Zambia and Zimbabwe).

PA/EAT

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For more information, please contact: Mr. Frank Dixon Mugyenyi, Senior Industry Advisor - Email: MugyenyiF@africa-union.org

Media contact: Patient Atcho, Department of Trade and Industry – Email: atchop@africa-union.org

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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