Nigeria's mining sector is drawing significant private investment as the federal government pushes local processing and industrialisation, Solid Minerals Minister Dele Alake said on Thursday.
Speaking at a joint stakeholders' sensitisation meeting organised by the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for the North-Central zone, Alake said the investments reflect growing confidence in the sector under the administration's reform agenda.
The meeting, held in Abuja, carried the theme "From Resource to Revenue: Aligning Solid Minerals Operations with the 2025 Tax Reform Act."
Alake highlighted two major lithium projects -- a $600 million processing plant in Nasarawa State awaiting commissioning and a $200 million facility near Abuja -- as examples of a wider shift away from raw exports toward local value addition.
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Alake declared that Nigeria's economic recovery has begun following what he described as bold reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration.
According to a statement by the special assistant to the minister on media, Lara Owo-eye Wise, on Thursday, Alake made the comment at a joint stakeholders' sensitisation meeting organised by the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for the North-Central zone in Abuja.
Alake said the country had commenced a difficult but necessary transition from a consumption-driven economy to productive industrial growth.
The meeting, with the theme, "From Resource to Revenue: Aligning Solid Minerals Operations with the 2025 Tax Reform Act," brought together mining operators, regulators and industry stakeholders to improve compliance and deepen understanding of the new royalty and tax administration framework in the sector.
He noted that Nigeria's overdependence on oil revenue after the discovery of crude oil weakened the mining industry, which had once played a major role in the country's economic development.
"Our colonial masters built rail lines primarily to support mining activities and move mineral resources. Unfortunately, after independence and the oil boom happened to us, the mining sector collapsed while the nation became heavily dependent on oil revenue and import-driven consumption," he said.
Alake stated that previous administrations failed to address the country's economic challenges because they lacked the courage to take difficult decisions.
"Nigeria was borrowing to pay salaries before 2023. There was little room for capital development because resources were being used largely for recurrent expenditure and fuel subsidy payments that became unsustainable," he said.
He explained that upon assuming office, President Tinubu moved swiftly to block leakages, reform key sectors and lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
The minister said the solid minerals sector had become a major pillar of the administration's economic diversification agenda, with reforms already attracting significant investments.
"We now have a $600 million lithium processing factory awaiting commissioning in Nasarawa State and another $200 million lithium facility near Abuja. Gold processing plants and other mineral beneficiation factories are also springing up across the country and our people are being employed," he stated.
Alake stressed that the federal government was no longer interested in exporting raw minerals without local processing and industrial value addition.
He said the ministry had introduced reforms aimed at improving ease of doing business, strengthening licensing processes, expanding geoscience data generation, formalising artisanal miners and sanitising the sector to attract responsible investors.
On efforts to tackle illegal mining, the minister disclosed that more than 300 illegal mining operators, including foreign nationals, had been arrested, while over 150 prosecutions were ongoing.
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He added that more than 100 illegal mining sites had been recovered and returned to legitimate owners as part of efforts to restore investor confidence in the sector.
According to him, Nigeria's local value addition policy has already attracted more than $2.6 billion in mining-related investments within the last two years.
"The ongoing reforms are not solely about enforcement and revenue generation but about building a sustainable mining ecosystem capable of creating jobs, boosting exports, increasing government revenue, and driving industrialisation," he said.
Alake also commended stakeholders for supporting the ministry's reforms through compliance with licensing obligations, royalty payments, environmental standards and responsible mining practices.
"That is why this engagement is important. We want continuous dialogue with operators and stakeholders. Our vision is built on partnership, transparency, education and shared prosperity because when the sector succeeds, you all win and Nigeria succeeds," he added.
