BUSINESS
FG Woos Global Investors With World-Class Mineral Discovery In Kaduna Ahead Of Nigeria NOW! Summit
The Federal Government has announced the discovery of a world-class mineral province in Kaduna State containing platinum group metals, gold, nickel, copper, lithium and rare earth elements.
The discovery, announced in June by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, and verified by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, is part of Nigeria’s push to attract global mining investors.
The Ministry will showcase the find and other projects at the Nigeria NOW! investment summit holding at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja on November 19 and 20.
According to the organisers, processing is already following discoveries, with $600 million and $200 million lithium facilities in Nasarawa State and near Abuja, alongside a $400 million rare earth processing project in Nasarawa.
Under the new policy, mining lease applicants must now submit value-addition plans.
Annual mining revenue has risen from about N6 billion before the current administration to over N70 billion by the end of 2025.
The Federal Executive Council has also approved deep seaports at Bakassi and Ondo as public-private partnerships, with the Bakassi port alone valued at $2.27 billion, to provide routes to export markets.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Tunde Arisekola, Senior Advisor at the African Minerals Development Centre, who will feature in the minerals session, said Nigeria is ready and open for business, describing the economy as stable, safe and welcoming to investors.
The programme will open with a welcome address by Dr. Alake, followed by sessions on power supply to industrial hubs and policies opening the minerals sector to foreign investment. The second day will focus on transport and port infrastructure, the $1 billion Domestic Green Bond, and an investors’ clinic on the 2025 Tax Act.
Lagos State Government, a partner in the summit, now regulates its own electricity market after regulatory oversight was transferred from NERC to the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Lagos Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, said capital follows bankable cashflows and the state’s job is to make its infrastructure plan financeable.
The youth-focused side event, YES! Nigeria, will run on November 20 under the theme “Empowering Today’s Entrepreneurs, Building Tomorrow’s Industrialists.”
Nigeria NOW! is held under the patronage of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development with support from Lagos State, Women in Mining and other partners.