Tinubu’s Mining Reforms Attract $800 Million and Spark Sector Boom — Alake
President Bola Tinubu’s mining reforms have significantly revitalized Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, leading to a sixfold revenue increase and attracting $800 million in foreign investments in 2024 alone. Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, revealed this during an interview for a documentary marking Tinubu’s second year in office. The key drivers of this transformation, according to Alake, include a policy shift toward local value addition and stricter licensing requirements, which have steered major processing projects into Nigeria.
Among the major investments are a $600 million lithium processing plant near the Kaduna-Niger border and a $200 million lithium refinery in Abuja, both nearing completion. Two more processing facilities are expected in Nasarawa later this year. Despite receiving only 18% of its budgeted N29 billion allocation in 2024, the ministry generated over N38 billion in revenue — a drastic jump from N6 billion the previous year. Alake emphasized that no mining license is now granted without a corresponding local processing plan, ending the practice of exporting raw minerals.
In early 2025, the Mining Cadastral Office (MCO) and Mines Inspectorate collectively generated nearly N14 billion in revenue, signaling sustained growth. Alake projected a record-breaking year ahead, citing a new N1 trillion budget for mineral exploration aimed at generating credible geological data — a key attractor for foreign investors. He criticized past underinvestment, noting that Nigeria had previously spent only $2 million on exploration compared to hundreds of millions in other African countries.
Efforts to formalize the sector have also seen crackdowns on illegal mining, with over 300 arrests, 150 prosecutions, and nine convictions recorded in 2024. Alake said the government is combining enforcement with empowerment, turning artisanal miners into over 250 legal cooperatives eligible for financing. These reforms are not only improving regulation but also helping citizens benefit more directly from mineral wealth.
Nigeria now leads the African Mineral Strategy Group, formed to promote local beneficiation and fairer trade deals across the continent. Alake cited growing international confidence in Nigeria’s mineral sector, with interest from the UK, U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. He concluded that with data-driven reforms, tightened laws, and focused industrialization goals, the mining sector has become a cornerstone of the Tinubu administration’s economic diversification agenda.