Nigeria: When the government prioritises investor participation in the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corp

In his statement dated January 30, 2024, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, affirms that the Nigerian government plans to offer investors a minimum of 75% participation in a company dedicated to solid minerals. The company, named Nigerian Solid Minerals Corp, will be tasked with harnessing the country’s vast mining potential.

«The government will not hold more than 25% of the shares in the proposed company, leaving the rest to private investors and the public», he stated during a conference held in Abuja.

The announcement of the shareholding structure of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corp comes as Parliament works on drafting a bill related to this company.

Its creation is part of a comprehensive strategy to diversify the Nigerian economy, which remains heavily dependent on international crude oil prices.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development also indicated that the new company is expected to absorb two existing state-owned mining companies.

«Lawmakers are considering incorporating the moribund public mining companies, the National Iron-Ore Company and the Bitumen Concessioning Programme, into the new company and creating a special mining police force to combat illegal mining», he revealed.

In September 2023, Mr. Alake had specified that the proposed company «will seek and conclude investment partnership agreements with major multinational companies worldwide to take advantage of the attractive and investment-friendly regime in the country, thus ensuring massive foreign direct investments in the mining sector».

According to official data, Nigeria is home to 44 solid minerals, including gold, iron ore, coal, tin, zinc, nickel, and lithium.

These minerals are distributed across over 500 identified sites. Some of them exist abundantly in the subsoil, such as iron ore, with the country’s reserves estimated at 2 billion tonnes.

Furthermore, coal resources are estimated at several billion tonnes, while minerals like gold and tin are also believed to be present in significant quantities.

The value of all solid mineral resources in the subsoil of the most populous country on the continent is estimated at $700 billion, according to Nigerian officials.

However, the sector contributed only 0.45% to the GDP in 2020, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Smith OKAFOR