By MARTHA AGAS

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has said that the solid minerals sector is the next jugular of Nigeria’s economy.

Alake stated this at the opening of the 10th edition of Nigeria’s Mining Week, themed `Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance,` on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that with the global drive toward green energy, President Bola Tinubu’s administration was determined to harness the country’s commercial deposits of critical minerals to promote local development.

He said the current administration was introducing policies and reforms aimed at shifting Nigeria from a mono-cultural economy focused on the oil sector to a diversified one.

“The solid mineral sector is an integral part of the economic diversification of Nigeria, that is why in the last two years we are striving to be creative with our policy initiatives and reforms“, he said.

He said that they have been very consistent in the implementation and enforcement of the policies.

According to him, a cabal of mining operators has taken over the sector, flagrantly disregarding environmental regulations and failing to pay annual fees, but the current administration has taken strict measures to address the situation.

“They got away with what we call blue murder until the Tinubu`s administration came in said it was no longer going to business as usual because there is a new sheriff in town, he said.

He said the ministry had improved its performance through innovations such as digitizing its operations particularly in securing mineral licences, adding that its contribution to the GDP rose to 4.61 per cent in the second quarter of 2025.

“From all available evidence, our policies are working but we couldn’t have achieved this without the cooperation of stakeholders“, he said.

He announced the introduction of two policies aimed at providing funding intervention for mineral exploration for repositioning the sector.

“I can confidently tell you that we are going to start a Solid Minerals Development Fund high-impact mineral exploration programme.

“This is a grant funding programme which is to provide financial and technical support for those exploring for minerals in Nigeria, he said.

Also speaking, the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar, said that the steel sector, as a minerals-based industry, remained one of the major drivers of investment in the minerals sector.

Abubakar said the theme of the conference reinforced the importance of value addition as one of the key drivers of industrial growth to gain global relevance and competitiveness.

He said the efforts to reposition the Nigerian steel industry for sustainable growth with increased foreign direct investment can only be possible with a sustainable supply of mineral raw materials.

According to him, the robust business engagements and policy alignments for the development of strategic minerals like iron ore, fluxes, coal and other alloying minerals should see the Nigerian steel industry as a major partner/off-taker.

Earlier in his remarks, Mr. Dele Ayankele, the National President of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), said the annual event had stood tall in leading conversations that have hallmarked the growth and development of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.

Ayankale said that through the instrumentality of the Mining Week, the sector had evolved, achieving remarkable progress , from increased exploration to the growth of artisanal and small-scale mining, and the emergence of larger mining operations.

He urged participants at the conference to explore opportunities for business, knowledge sharing, and international collaborations.

“The 10th anniversary of the Nigeria Mining week is not just a celebration but a launch pad for the next decade of growth, innovation and prosperity of Nigeria`s mining sector, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigeria Mining Week, holding from October 13 to 15, is organized by MAN in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the VUKA Group. (NAN)