BY GLORIA AKUDORO

Nigeria’s Minister of Solid minerals, Dele Alake has disclosed that the mining sector reforms in the country attracted investments worth $800million in 2024

The minister explained that the attractions came from the solid minerals sector, driven by the Tinubu administration’s new policy of local value addition and a tightened licensing regime in processing projects last year.

He stated further that the sector generated over ₦38 billion in revenue in 2024, up from just ₦6 billion the previous year, despite receiving only 18% of its ₦29 billion budgeted allocation.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, revealed this during a feature interview for an upcoming State House documentary marking President Tinubu’s second anniversary.

The disclosure was contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, quoted Alake as saying that the sector has witnessed an increase in investor interest, buoyed by the administration’s mining sector reforms.

He listed the $600 million lithium processing plant near the Kaduna-Niger border, set to be commissioned this quarter, the $200 million lithium refinery on the outskirts of Abuja, nearing completion, and two additional processing plants in Nasarawa, slated for commissioning before Q3 2025.

“These investments follow the administration’s insistence that no miner gets a licence without a clear local processing plant. The days of exporting raw minerals from pit to port are over.

“When we resumed, the entire sector generated ₦6 billion annually. By the end of 2024, we hit ₦38 billion. And this was with just 18% of our ₦29 billion budgetary allocation released. It shows how effective our policy framework has been,” Dr Alake stated.

According to the Minister, in the first quarter of 2025 alone, two regulatory agencies—the Mining Cadastral Office (MCO) and the Mines Inspectorate—have already recorded ₦6.9 billion and ₦7 billion in revenue, respectively.

“Exploration is key. When we came in, Nigeria had spent just $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 touch your sector without credible data,” he said.

“We are now focused on turning our mineral wealth into domestic economic value—jobs, technology, and manufacturing,” he said.

As part of its seven-point agenda, the Minister said he has taken aggressive steps to curb illegal mining and formalise artisanal activity, adding that over 300 illegal miners were arrested last year, 150 prosecutions are ongoing, and nine convictions have been secured, including foreign nationals.

“We adopted both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies. While enforcement has yielded results through the Mining Marshals, we’re also empowering locals by formalising them into cooperatives, making them eligible for finance and revenue sharing,” he said.

He added that over 250 mining cooperatives have been established nationwide to absorb informal miners into the formal economy..

“This was a direct result of Nigeria’s position at the 2024 Future Minerals Conference in Riyadh. We’re leading Africa in saying: no more raw material exports without domestic beneficiation.”

“The former British Deputy Prime Minister personally invited me to Downing Street to discuss their interest in Nigerian lithium,” Alake said.

“The U.S. is also looking to diversify from China and sees Nigeria as a viable alternative.”

He noted that with new revenue streams, foreign direct investment, tightened regulation, and a clear path towards industrialisation, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector is now a pillar of the Tinubu administration’s economic diversification plan.

“Nigeria has not had it this good in the solid minerals sector. We’re restoring confidence, building data, enforcing the law, and returning value to Nigerians from their resources.

“The mining cadastral office, the agency responsible for licensing and processing applications, received over 10,000 applications from local and foreign investors this quarter alone.

“That shows you that this sector is vibrant. The vitality that we’ve introduced into this sector has never been seen before the advent of President Tinubu’s administration,” he said.