The federal government has unveiled a new package of incentives aimed at attracting global players to Nigeria’s mining industry, offering measures such as seamless profit repatriation and duty waivers on imported mining equipment.
The incentives were announced at the Resourcing Tomorrow Exhibition and Conference held recently in London.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, who led Nigeria’s delegation, told participants that the country was now fully positioned for large-scale investment in solid minerals.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Adviser, Kehinde Bamigbetan, the minister highlighted Nigeria’s recent breakthroughs in mineral processing, noting over $2 billion in foreign inflows into lithium and rare earth projects over the past two years.
Dr. Alake said these investments stemmed from President Bola Tinubu’s policy on value addition, which aims to end the long-standing practice of exporting raw ore.
“Since last year, companies such as Canmax Technologies, Jiuling Lithium, Avatar New Energy Nigeria Limited, and Asba Group have collectively invested over $1.3 billion in lithium processing projects across Nigeria,” he told the gathering.
“These are not speculative ventures; they are bricks, mortar, and machinery.”
The minister added that construction was underway near Abuja on a $50 million lithium processing plant—“the first in a network of industrial clusters” planned for Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara and Ebonyi States.
In the rare earths segment, he stated that Nigeria recently “broke new grounds” with the groundbreaking of Hasetins Group’s $400million rare earth processing plant, expected to be completed in 15 months while a multibillion-dollar iron-ore-to-steel project was also in development.
On sector governance and security, the minister said the government had established Mining Marshals to enforce mining laws and protect legitimate operators, and is expanding the system with satellite technology capable of tracking mining activity nationwide.
Dr. Alake also presented the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company (NSMC) as the government’s preferred partner for joint-venture arrangements.
“The NSMC embodies our philosophy of shared prosperity through shared investment,” he said. “It functions as a sovereign partner, co-investing in high-value mineral projects, de-risking exploration, and catalyzing downstream processing.”
Assuring the more than 1,000 conference participants of Nigeria’s readiness, the minister explained that over 80 percent of the country has now been geologically mapped through efforts by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency and private exploration firms.
He added that the Tinubu administration has finalized new Solid Minerals Export Guidelines to align the country’s export system with global standards on traceability, environmental responsibility and governance.
Addressing concerns about disruptions in global supply chains, Dr. Alake argued that local value addition in resource-producing countries offers a “win-win solution.” He also referenced the work of the Africa Minerals Support Group—formed by African ministers of mining—as a catalyst for beneficiation policies across the continent.
Highlighting domestic progress, he said several Nigerian states now operate their own mining companies, strengthening local participation in the sector.
He further noted that 427 community development agreements have been signed between mining companies and host communities as part of efforts to embed economic, social and governance principles into Nigeria’s mining industry.
