Morocco's Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Leila Benali called on Monday in Nouakchott for an African framework in the mining sector that integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions.
"Our ambition is to adopt, at the next African Congress in Marrakech (scheduled for end of November, ed), an ESG framework adapted and designed by African mining ministers for Africa," the minister stated in a speech read on her behalf during a ministerial session organized as part of the ”Mauritanides" International Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition .
This framework will enable governments and mining operators in Africa to finance extraction, transit, and processing operations and to value Africa's natural capital at its fair value for the development of African peoples and territories, she noted.
Existing frameworks, inspired by financial practices in other regions or sectors, are not suited to the realities of Africa, the minister said in her speech, which was read by the ministry's director general of energy and mineral production development, Ahmed Bouzid.
She also noted that the meetings of the International Mining Congress Morocco (IMC Morocco 2024), held last December in Marrakech, had resulted in a consensus among African ministers on the need for an ESG framework as a prerequisite for the financing and sustainable development of mineral resources.
Benali reviewed the strengths of the Moroccan model in this area, citing the launch of the OTC (Origination, Transit, Certification) corridor initiative, supported by an ESG framework and approved by African mining ministers, to address the challenges associated with the extraction and processing of rare minerals on the continent.
She also highlighted the Kingdom's collaboration with several organizations, in particular the African Mining Development Center (AMDC), to harmonize mining policies and traceability in supply chains.
Benali is participating, at the head of a large delegation, in the 7th Mauritanides International Energy and Minerals Conference and Exhibition.
This two-day event, which was opened by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, aims to create a regional and international platform bringing together players from the mining, gas, oil, renewable energy, and green hydrogen sectors to discuss ways to develop these sectors and increase their contribution to the national and regional economy.
MAP: 09 September 2025
