The vice president, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said the reforms of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the mining sector is beginning to manifest, with over $2.6 billion in Foreign Direct Investment attracted to the sector in the last 30 months alone.

He explained that through the de-risking of the mining environment in the country, the administration has made local value addition a non-negotiable principle of licensing as Nigeria was no longer content to be a warehouse of raw materials.

According to a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, Senator Shettima noted this on Wednesday in Abuja during the official commissioning of the Kursi Group headquarters established by Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki Gambari.

"We are becoming a global hub for mineral refinement, beneficiation, and value-driven industrial growth," he pointed out.

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On the prospect and contributions of the Kursi Group, the VP observed that "There is no doubt that any enterprise processing our lithium for the global green energy transition, and refining our gold to international standards right here on our soil, eases our industrial ambition.

"Every nation that rises does so by mastering the value chain of its natural advantage. Every nation that commands respect in the world economy learns to convert resources into products, products into industries, and industries into national power."

Shortly after the commissioning of the Kursi Group Corporate Headquarters, the vice president, accompanied by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and other dignitaries at the event, toured the facility housing a refining factory and a state-of-the-art minerals marketing and tracking platform.

The event was attended by investors in the mining sector, traditional and religious leaders from Kwara State and beyond.