The Minister of Solid Minerals, Oladele Alake, has hailed the $1bn (N1.6tn) new iron ore to the steel project planned for Kogi State as a breakthrough in the Federal Government’s push for local value addition in the sector.
The project, a collaboration between Nigeria’s Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited and China’s Sinomach-He, marks a pivotal step in the Federal Government’s drive to prioritize local value addition over raw mineral exports.
Special Adviser to the Minister, Kehinde Bamigbetan, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Speaking at a meeting in Beijing during President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to China, Alake praised the project as a breakthrough in the government’s efforts to revamp the sector.
The statement partly read, “He said the Federal Government has reversed the pit to port policy under which mining companies exported raw minerals to extraction with local value addition which is the best guarantee of jobs for the youths, skills transfer and better balance of trade between the country and her trading partners.”
The new policy requires that applicants for mining licenses include plans for processing raw minerals locally, a move Alake said will enhance Nigeria’s trade balance, particularly with China.
