Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, driven by the present administration’s new policy of local value addition and a licensing regime, attracted over $800 million in processing projects last year, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake has said.
The sector also generated over N38 billion in revenue in 2024, up from just N6 billion the previous year, despite receiving only 18% of its N29 billion budgeted allocation.
Alake revealed this during a feature interview for an upcoming State House documentary marking President Tinubu’s second year in office.
The Minister said the sector has witnessed an increase in investor interest buoyed by the administration’s mining sector reforms.
He also listed the $600 million lithium processing plant near the Kaduna-Niger border, 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 license without a clear local processing plant. The days of exporting raw minerals from pit to port are over.”
