China Mining Conference 2026 Focuses on Critical Minerals from Africa

From 10 to 12 September 2026, the 28th China International Mining Conference and Exhibition (abbreviated as China Mining 2026) took place at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin, not far from the capital, Beijing. The annual event is organized by China‘s Ministry of Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Municipal Government of Tianjin. The theme of the 28th annual conference was ‘Win-Win Cooperation, Green and Intelligent Development‘.

China’s Vice Premier HE Lifeng delivered the opening remarks and underscored the necessity of the application of technologies for the ‘high-quality development’ of the mining sector. On the other hand, several African Mining Ministers took to the podium to present the mining industry in their respective country.

Most African delegations were eager to move up the mining value chain. As President Ramaphosa recently put it at the recent BRICS Summit in Delhi, African cannot export unrefined ores forever. Several African countries enacted policies to restrict the export of raw minerals to encourage more local value addition (#LVA).

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Kazakhstan were the guests of honor for this edition and enjoyed premium spots for their country pavilions. China’s mining giant Zijin Mining even sponsored DRC’s pavilion. However, certain large African mining countries such as South Africa and Zambia were not present.

Ghana signed a geological mapping cooperation agreement with China. In addition, Ghana urged the formalization of small-scale mining and called for stronger cooperation to curb illegal mining. Sudan signed MoUs with several Chinese companies to revitalize its gold mining sector after disruptions caused by the civil war.

DRC signed new cooperation frameworks with China’s mining majors ‘to move beyond raw copper and cobalt extraction’. Tanzania’s Minister of Mines Anthony Mavinde and China’s Deputy Minister of Natural Resources XU Dachun signed a geophysical survey agreement. The survey will be conducted by China Geological Survey with drones and target resource-rich regions of Dodoma, Tabora, Singida and Shinyanga in Central Tanzania.

In line with the event’s theme, China promoted its technology and machinery for smart and green mining. In particular, it showcased China’s mining industry as a responsible actor adhering to good Environmental, Social and Governance (#ESG) principles. China’s Ministry of Natural Resources also announced a New Mineral Exploration Drive in support of the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan (#FYP15).

A total of 35 foreign ministers and delegations from 80 countries attended this 28th edition of the annual event. According to the organizers, the event generated RMB 300 million ($25M) in newly signed deals.