‘Nigeria is becoming Africa’s minerals hub with new gold, lithium plants – Alake
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has said that the establishment of lithium processing and gold refining plants across Nigeria is positioning the country as Africa’s leading minerals hub and a key global partner in minerals critical for the transition to green energy.
Dr. Alake made the remarks during a meeting with the Saudi Arabian Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Mr. Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, ahead of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
He noted that Nigeria’s value-addition policy is already yielding results, highlighting a high-purity gold refining plant now operational in Lagos, three additional gold refineries at various stages of development, and a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State ready for commissioning.
Dr. Alake commended Saudi Arabia for its role in expanding collaboration opportunities among governments in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe through the FMF, adding that Nigeria is eager to deepen its partnership with the Kingdom by leveraging areas of comparative advantage in solid minerals development.
“There are areas of comparative advantage where Saudi Arabia excels and others where Nigeria has strengths. We are keen on structuring agreements that will enable us to engage meaningfully and constructively. Priority areas include capacity building, training of mining professionals, technology transfer, and particularly exploration, where Saudi Arabia has demonstrated expertise,” he said.
He added that Nigeria’s vast landmass is rich in critical minerals and rare earth elements required by the global economy, stressing the importance of the FMF platform in fine-tuning actionable partnerships based on fairness, equity and mutual benefit.
Dr. Alake also highlighted mineral traceability, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards, and mine-pit remediation as priority areas for collaboration, noting that traceability boosts investor confidence and should be a core component of any partnership.
In his remarks, Minister Al-Khorayef reaffirmed Nigeria’s status as a longstanding ally of Saudi Arabia and called for a practical, actionable agreement on solid minerals development, proposing that the joint working group develop a draft MOU for possible signing on the sidelines of the forum. He encouraged Nigeria to showcase its mining investment opportunities to Saudi investors while urging African countries to adopt advanced mining technologies.
