Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Nigeria has called for an urgent shift from Africa’s dependence on raw mineral exports to full-scale mineral processing and green industrialization across the continent.
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development and Chairman of the African Minerals Strategy Group, AMSG, Dr. Dele Alake, said this in Cape Town, South Africa, while delivering the keynote address at the African Mining Week themed “Vision and Strategy – Setting the Stage for Minerals Industrialization”
Alake declared that Africa must no longer serve as a supplier of raw materials for global industries while remaining under-industrialized.
“Africa’s minerals have powered industrialization elsewhere while our own economies remain under-industrialized. This paradox must end,” the minister declared. “Our vision must be clear: to move from extractive dependence to transformative industrialization.”
Alake underscored Africa’s strategic position in the global economy, noting that the continent is home to some of the richest mineral deposits essential for clean energy, digital technologies, advanced manufacturing, and global security.
He said Africa’s future lies in leveraging its mineral wealth to drive economic transformation and create opportunities for its youth.
“Our youth should no longer seek jobs abroad while opportunities lie buried beneath their feet. The time to industrialize is now. Let us set the stage for an Africa that is not just a participant in the global minerals economy, but a driver of its future.”
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Farouk Yabo, Alake outlined Nigeria’s ongoing reforms aimed at promoting local beneficiation and attracting serious investors to the solid minerals sector.
He explained that the government has intensified incentives for domestic mineral processing — from gold refining to lithium beneficiation — while revoking dormant licenses, strengthening governance and transparency, and developing a national critical minerals strategy.
In a related engagement at the Ministerial Roundtable of the African Minerals Strategy Group, AMSG, Alake highlighted Nigeria’s vision of achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030, powered in part by reforms in the mining sector.
“We are investing in digitizing mining processes from data accessibility to mineral traceability. We are also focusing on bequeathing strong institutions and the right policies to drive reforms, hence the ongoing efforts to amend the 2007 Minerals and Mining Act to provide a more robust legislative framework that will propel investments in the mining sector.”
The Minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring full traceability from mining to monetization, adding that the country’s minerals would only come from licensed operators or registered artisanal and small-scale miners.
“We must ensure that only licensed operators are mining,” Alake stressed. “After national mapping, it is the duty of countries to ensure compliance and build capacity for effective supervision.”
Nigeria was also represented at the Country Spotlight Session, where the Permanent Secretary presented investment opportunities in the solid minerals sector, outlining key reforms, incentives, and the country’s vast mineral endowments.
