The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has declared that Nigeria is strategically positioned to anchor the continent’s mineral evolution by leveraging its estimated $750 billion in untapped mineral wealth. Confirming his attendance at the upcoming African Mining Week in South Africa, the Minister emphasized the federal government’s resolve to establish Africa as a premier, globally competitive destination for mining investments through aggressive regulatory adjustments and structured regional partnerships.
Speaking in Abuja during a strategic session with the event organizers, Energy Capital and Power, Alake stated that the nation’s upcoming participation coincides with a crucial milestone for continental resource governance. This development follows the presidency’s recent endorsement of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group Charter, alongside the Minister’s appointment as the pioneer head of the organization’s steering committee.
According to the ministry, the central government intends to utilize the international gathering to transition its policy blueprints into actionable cross-border ventures, unified regulatory approaches, and sustainable financing models. The administration’s current sectoral roadmap targets raising the mining industry’s contribution to the national gross domestic product to 10 percent by expanding national exploration projects, improving geological data collection, and strictly enforcing local mineral beneficiation laws.
Nigeria is actively strengthening bilateral ties with key regional counterparts, including South Africa and South Sudan, recognizing that long-term global competitiveness requires integrated continental markets and shared infrastructure. A major highlight of the upcoming summit will be an exclusive roundtable focusing on the deployment of the Africa Minerals and Metals Exchange, mineral tokenization frameworks, and public-private funding options designed to secure the continent’s place in strategic global supply chains.
