*Dr. Dele Alake, Nigeria鈥檚 Minister for Solid Minerals Development, urges global investors to increase their investment stakes in the West African country鈥檚 solid minerals sector in regard to positive reforms that promise higher returns on investment

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

Dr. Dele Alake, Nigeria鈥檚 Honourable Minister for Solid Minerals Development, has urged global investors to increase their investment stakes in the country鈥檚 solid minerals sector, following positive reforms that promise higher Returns on Investment (RoI).

Alake said this while speaking on the theme: “Connect and Collaborate, Co-Build and Co-Share”, at China Mining Conference 2025, held in Tianjin.

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The Minister impressed his hosts with security reforms, including the Mining Marshals and the satellite mines monitoring project, which were introduced to protect licensed miners and curtail illegal mining.

Segun Tomori, Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, who noted this Sunday, October 26, 2025, said Dr. Alake cited upgrades in technology to ease doing business and processing applications, such as the Electronic Mining Cadastre, EMC+, the Nigerian Mineral Resources Decision System (NMRDS), the Centre of Excellence, and the Web sites of the Ministry and agencies, as unique utilities to improve remote transactions globally in Nigeria’s mining sector.

Reviewing the Chinese mining business, the Minister acknowledged that investments in lithium processing alone grossed $1.3 billion since September 2023.

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He affirmed that the MoUs President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed during the state visit September 2024 have led to substantial investment commitments in the sector.

Alake also stated: “Since September 2023, when this administration assumed office, Chinese companies, such as Canmax Technology, Jiuling Lithium, Avatar New Energy Nigeria Company, and Asba have invested over $1.3 billion in lithium processing.

According to him, the investments have boosted Nigeria鈥檚 economic diversification efforts, reduced its dependency on oil and attracted infrastructure, technology transfer, and expertise.

It is equally noted that Joint Ventures between Chinese and Nigerian companies in the mining sector often enhance local capabilities and skills among Nigerian workers and engineers.

The statement indicated Dr. Alake, who is currently the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), reaffirmed Nigeria鈥檚 commitment to strengthening continental cooperation in mineral exploration and reporting standards.

The Minister asserted Africa must build shared systems of knowledge and governance if it is to fully benefit from its vast mineral endowments.

He reaffirmed plans to strengthen the regional Centres of Excellence in Geosciences and Mining Skills, and to expand the role of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) and the SMDF鈥慉FC Facility in supporting early鈥憇tage exploration and de鈥憆isking investments.

Alake said: “We warmly invite investors, development partners, and technical institutions to explore Nigeria鈥檚 vast opportunities in minerals such as lithium, gold, lead-zinc, barite, and rare earth elements.

鈥淥ur government offers a conducive investment climate, improved security of tenure, and incentives that guarantee mutual benefit.鈥�

We鈥檙e focused on building globally competitive value chain, says Minister

Underscoring that the country is poised to maximise mineral deposits, Dr. Alake told global investors at the summit, that Nigeria鈥檚 vision is not only to extract minerals but to build a globally competitive value chain that supports clean energy transition, job creation, and industrial growth, all within the framework of responsible mining.

Representing Nigeria in the technical session on 鈥淢ining in Africa and Policy,鈥� Prof. Olusegun Omoniyi Ige, Director鈥慓eneral of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency, highlighted the National Mineral Resources Data System (NMRDSS), and the country鈥檚 extensive aeromagnetic and geochemical datasets, which together provide a solid foundation for informed minerals exploration.

Prof. Ige explained that as these datasets have greatly improved the country鈥檚 geological understanding, greater investment is still required to expand exploration coverage and convert data into proven mineral resources.

Other speakers included Mr. Xu Xueyi, Deputy Director鈥慓eneral of the China Geological Survey; H.E. Mohamed Ahmed Taha, Minister of Minerals of Sudan; Ms Phumzile Mgcina, Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources of South Africa; and Mr Joseph Lebbie, Director鈥慓eneral of Geological Exploration, Sierra Leone, Tomori stated.