Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have initiated talks on extracting and processing iron ore into steel.
This collaboration was advanced during the Resourcing Tomorrow event at the annual Mines and Money expo in London, United Kingdom.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy of Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Saleh Al-Musdaifer, discussed plans for extracting and processing iron ore in Nigeria. Saudi Arabia currently imports iron ore from various African countries to support its solid steel industry.
Dele Alake proposed that Nigeria should not only extract iron ore but also process it into steel within the country, arguing that value-added exports would attract higher prices than raw ores. In response, Al-Musdaifer expressed Saudi Arabia’s interest in sourcing iron ore for its steel industry and indicated that the government would consider Nigeria’s proposal to domesticate the downstream value chain.
A follow-up meeting has been scheduled for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the Future Metals Forum in January 2025.
In addition to the discussions with Saudi Arabia, Alake also met with other investors including tin manufacturers Woodcross and Gerald Group, and fund managers AMG and Business Idea Development from China. These meetings yielded positive results, with commitments from investors for future projects.
Woodcross confirmed that a preliminary survey of tin mining in Jos had shown sufficient tin ores to justify long-term investment in processing. Investors expect Woodcross to make a final investment decision in February 2025.
A Ministerial Committee has been set up to implement the start-up in line with the timeline and provide weekly updates.
The Gerald Group reported their research into Nigeria’s tin sector and expressed willingness for a joint venture.
Alake encouraged them to push for the early start of the project, highlighting the plans of the Tinubu administration to establish the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, which would be a reliable joint venture partner.
Alake also held discussions with AMG Group and Business Idea Management Centre on funding for mining projects in Nigeria. AMG Group expressed interest in sourcing capital and investors globally for the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation. Similarly, Business Idea Management Centre offered opportunities for Chinese capital to support the Nigerian mining sector.
The forum reviewed a proposal for the African Extractive Minerals Bank and urged Alake, as the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, to support the idea of providing exploration funding for mining across the continent. Alake promised to put this initiative on the agenda of the AMSG at its next meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In a related development, the ministry confirmed that the reappointment of Fatima Shinkafi as Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aligns with the agency’s founding regulations.
No provision in the SMDF Act imposes a term limit for the agency’s Chief Executive Officers, making her reappointment lawful.
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