5th AU Minerals Model Law Meeting Holds Oct 14-17 in Addis Ababa

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The African Union Commission’s Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals (ETTIM) is set to finalize the drafting and validation of the African Union’s Model Law on Mineral Resources Development during the Model Law’s 5th drafting meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, come October 14-17, 2024.

The Model Law will be finalized at the 5th drafting meeting of the Technical Working Group on the African Union Model Law on Mineral Resources Development being hosted by the African Union in partnership with Expertise France under the project: “French Facility for Technical Assistance to the African Union – phase III.”

The authority to draft the Model Law is derived from the outcomes of the retreat of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union held in July 2016 in Rwanda where the Assembly requested the AU Commission (AUC) to undertake a study on the management of African mineral resources, with a particular focus on optimizing revenue through the harmonization of royalties and fiscal regimes as well as develop a model law that will guide the Member States in reviewing their royalties and fiscal regimes.

A statement by the AUC said proper management of natural resources through an effective fiscal regime and sound public financial management will set African countries on course for sustainable development and prosperity as the harmonized mining laws will be used to achieve goals such as environmental protection, the Sustainable Development Goals and offer incentives to keep value-added activities in-country thereby moving the country and its economic actors up the global minerals’ value chain.

“The Model Law is expected to provide African governments with specific guidance on establishing and attaining regional standards to increase domestic revenue generation. The importance of creating and adopting model mining legislation in Africa is to ensure that international investors and mining companies cannot establish terms that are disadvantageous to the country in question. The Model Law also proposes a strong institutional framework for the regulation and management of the exploitation of mineral resources in Africa,” said AUC.

The 4th drafting meeting was held in November 2021, in Nairobi, Kenya where experts made significant progress in refining the draft Model Law but were unable to finalize it due to the magnitude of the work that needed to be done. The 1st drafting meeting was held in September 2017, in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, where experts agreed that the decision was narrow as it emphasized fiscal aspects only. Subsequently, the scope was further discussed at the 2nd and the 3rd drafting meetings held in Port Louis, Mauritius, and Accra, Ghana, respectively.