Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are in talks on the extraction and processing of iron ore into steel.
A statement signed by the special adviser to the Minister, Kehinde Bamigbetan, on Monday, said the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake and the Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy of Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Saleh Al-Musdaifer, advanced talks on the partnership at the just concluded Resourcing Tomorrow at the annual Mines and Money expo in London, United Kingdom.
Plans to extract iron ore and process steel in Nigeria were discussed during the meeting.
Saudi Arabia currently boasts of a solid steel industry that relies on importing iron ore from various African countries.
However, Alake pitched for the extraction and beneficiation of iron ore to steel in Nigeria, adding that the value-added exports would attract better prices than raw ores.
Responding, Al-Mudaifer confirmed Saudi Arabia’s interest in sourcing iron ore for its steel industry and assured the minister that the government would consider Nigeria’s proposal for the domestication of the downstream value chain in the country.
According to the statement, a follow-up meeting has been scheduled for Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, during the Future Metals Forum in January 2025.
It added that Alake also met other investors such as tin manufacturers Woodcross and Gerald Group, fund managers AMG and Business Idea Development, China.
“Set up by the mining investment group, Core International, the meeting yielded positive results. Woodcross confirmed it had done a preliminary survey of tin mining in Jos and discovered evidence of sufficient tin ores to justify the long-term investment in processing that could meet current global demands,” the statement read.
Represented by directors Mehdi Ali and Hassan Dhanji, Woodcross promised to make a final investment decision in February 2025.
Alake immediately set up a Ministerial Committee to implement the start-up in line with the timeline and provide weekly updates.
On its part, the Gerald Group, led by head of Business Development, Brendan Lynch and Vice President of Communications Anya Sarin, also reported their research into the tin sector in Nigeria and their willingness for a joint venture.
Alake encouraged them to push for the early take-off of the project, highlighting the plans of the Tinubu administration to float the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, which would be a reliable joint venture partner for the project.
He assigned the task of following up on the project to the Ministerial Committee with a similar mandate.
Alake also held discussions with the Director of AMG Group, Ajay Commem and Managing Director of Business Idea Management Centre, China, Young Chan, on funding for mining projects in Nigeria.
“Mr Commem said he heard of the Tinubu administration’s plan to set up the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, adding that AMG would be willing to source capital and investors globally for the corporation.
“Similarly, Mr Chan said he flew from China to meet the minister to offer opportunities of Chinese capital to the Nigerian mining sector. The Minister directed the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund to work with both institutions towards supplementing the Fund’s sources of capital for investment.
“The Minister concluded the business meetings with discussions with over 30 mining entrepreneurs drawn from all regions of the world,” the statement added.
The forum reviewed the proposal for the African Excrative Minerals Bank and urged the Minister as the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group to support the novel idea of providing exploration funding for mining across the continent.
Responding, Alake commended the initiative and promised to put it on the agenda of the AMSG at its next meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In a related development, the minister 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.
This was according to a statement signed by the statement was made by the ministry’s Assistant Director of Information and Public Relations, Ekwugha Chinwe, on Monday.
In response to the recent controversy surrounding her reappointment, the ministry clarified that there is no provision in the SMDF Act that imposes a term limit for the agency’s Chief Executive Officers.
“Section 35(2) of the NMMA 2007 stipulates that the Executive Secretary shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development. No provisions on tenure limit exist in the act governing the agency.
“The act does not stipulate term limit for the chief executive. Therefore, her reappointment by the president is in order and does not contravene any law,” Chinwe said.
