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The Minister of Solid Minerals Development,Dr Dele Alake announced that Nigeria attracted over $800 million in processing investments in its solid minerals sector last year.
He attributed this growth to the Tinubu administration’s shift in policy, which emphasizes local value addition and more stringent licensing requirements.
Alake also shared that sector revenue rose to over ₦38 billion in 2024, a significant increase from ₦6 billion the previous year, even though the ministry received only 18 percent of its ₦29 billion budget allocation.
This information was conveyed in a statement released to the press by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Media Strategy.
During an interview for a State House documentary commemorating President Tinubu’s two years in office, Alake noted that the reforms implemented have sparked considerable investor interest.
He highlighted several major projects, including a $600 million lithium processing plant near the Kaduna Niger border, set to be commissioned this quarter.
Additionally, a $200 million lithium refinery near Abuja is nearing completion, and two more processing facilities in Nasarawa are expected to commence operations before the third quarter of 2025.
"These investments arise from the administration’s requirement that no miner receives a licence without a clear local processing facility. The era of exporting raw minerals from pit to port has ended.
When we took office, the entire sector generated ₦6 billion annually. By 2024, we achieved ₦38 billion, with just 18 percent of our ₦29 billion budget released. This demonstrates the effectiveness of our policy framework," Dr. Alake stated.
He further revealed that in the first quarter of 2025 alone, the Mining Cadastral Office and the Mines Inspectorate reported revenues of ₦6.9 billion and ₦7 billion, respectively. Looking forward, the Minister anticipates that 2025 will mark a pivotal year for the industry, stating that ₦1 trillion has been allocated for mineral exploration, aimed at generating certified geological data meeting international standards.
"Exploration is crucial. When we arrived, Nigeria had only spent $2 million on exploration, compared to $40 million in Sierra Leone, $148 million in Côte d’Ivoire, and over $300 million in South Africa. No serious investor will engage with a sector lacking credible data," he emphasized.
"We are now concentrating on converting our mineral resources into domestic economic value, job creation, technology, and manufacturing," he added. As part of a broad reform initiative, Alake mentioned that the ministry is making significant efforts to combat illegal mining and integrate informal miners into the formal economy.
He confirmed that over 300 illegal miners were apprehended last year, with 150 cases currently under prosecution and nine convictions secured, some involving foreign nationals.
"We employed both aggressive and non-aggressive strategies. While enforcement has proven effective through the Mining Marshals, we’re also empowering locals by formalizing them into cooperatives, enabling them to access financing and revenue sharing," he said.
To date, more than 250 mining cooperatives have been established nationwide to integrate informal miners into structured operations. The Minister also announced that Nigeria now heads the newly formed African Mineral Strategy Group, a continental platform aimed at promoting value addition within Africa and ensuring fairer mineral trade agreements.
"This was a direct result of Nigeria’s representation at the 2024 Future Minerals Conference in Riyadh. We are leading Africa in advocating against raw material exports without domestic processing," Alake stated.
Additionally, he discussed the increasing international interest in Nigeria’s mineral resources, citing interest from officials in the United Kingdom, United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, especially in lithium and other critical resources.
"The former British Deputy Prime Minister personally invited me to discuss their interest in Nigerian lithium," Alake revealed.
"The U.S. is also looking to reduce reliance on China and considers Nigeria a viable option."
He concluded that with rising revenues, increased foreign investments, stricter regulations, and a comprehensive industrialization strategy, the solid minerals sector has become a key component of the Tinubu administration’s economic diversification efforts.
"Nigeria has not experienced this level of progress in the solid minerals sector before. We are rebuilding trust, enhancing data, enforcing laws, and delivering value to Nigerians from their resources," the Minister concluded.
Alake also emphasized that the mining cadastral office received over 10,000 licence applications from local and international investors this quarter, underscoring the revitalized energy and investor confidence within the sector under President Tinubu’s leadership.
