By Abubakar Yunusa
Dele Alake, the minister of solid minerals development, has sought collaboration with Saudi Arabia to strengthen Nigeria’s mining capacity and boost exploration activities.
In a statement on Tuesday, Segun Tomori, special assistant on media to the minister, said Alake spoke during a meeting with Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources.
According to Tomori, the meeting was held ahead of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF), scheduled to take place from January 13 to January 15 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Alake said Nigeria is emerging as Africa’s leading minerals hub under the ministry’s value-addition policy, with lithium and gold projects driving growth in the sector.
He said key projects include a gold refining plant in Lagos, three additional gold refineries currently under development, and a N600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa state that is ready for commissioning.
The minister commended Saudi Arabia for expanding collaboration opportunities across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe through the Future Minerals Forum, while expressing Nigeria’s willingness to deepen partnerships in solid minerals development.
“There are areas of comparative advantage where Saudi Arabia excels and others where Nigeria has strengths,” he said.
“We are keen on structuring agreements that will enable us engage meaningfully and constructively.
“Priority areas include capacity building, training of mining professionals, technology transfer, and particularly exploration, where Saudi Arabia has demonstrated some expertise.”
Alake also said Nigeria’s vast landmass is endowed with critical minerals and rare earth elements required by the global economy, stressing the need for fair and equitable partnerships through the FMF platform.
He noted that a joint working group comprising members of the Nigerian delegation and the Saudi Chamber of Commerce has been active, with its report ready for presentation at the forum, following engagements after FMF 2025.
The minister added that mineral traceability, environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, and mine-pit remediation are priority areas for collaboration.
On his part, Al-Khorayef reaffirmed Nigeria’s status as a longstanding ally of Saudi Arabia and agreed on the need for a practical and actionable agreement on solid minerals development.
The Saudi minister proposed that the joint working group develop a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU), based on previous engagements, for possible signing on the sidelines of the conference.
In December 2025, the Nigerian solid minerals ministry said the sector is poised for significant growth, with revenue expected to reach N70 billion in 2025, from N38 billion in 2024.
