KEY POINTS
- Nigeria looks to capital market to fund mining growth.
- Sector holds 44 minerals but contributes less than 1 percent to GDP.
- Investors urged to use reconnaissance licenses as entry point.
Nigeria is betting on its capital market to close a critical financing gap in the mining industry and position solid minerals as a driver of economic transformation.
Solid Minerals Minister Dele Alake, represented by his senior adviser Amira Adamu Waziri, told participants at a NASD–SMDF webinar on Wednesday that the market can provide the long-term funding needed for exploration, project development, and processing infrastructure.
The event, titled Understanding the Mining Asset Development Cycle, drew more than 200 stakeholders from government, finance, and industry.
Mining reforms under Tinubu
Alake said the ministry’s seven-point agenda is already delivering results, including the creation of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, the launch of Mines Marshalls, and efforts to formalize artisanal mining. Other priorities include value addition, local processing, and drawing both foreign and domestic investment.
Capital market as growth enabler
Despite holding more than 44 commercially viable minerals, the sector contributes less than 1 percent to GDP. Alake said that inadequate data, illegal mining, and weak infrastructure have hindered growth, but financing remains the biggest bottleneck.
“The capital market is a critical pillar in the journey toward a sustainable mining sector,” he said. “Through it, we can mobilize long-term financing, support junior mining firms, and channel institutional capital into processing hubs.”
Investor opportunities and new models
Mining Cadastre Office head Obadiah Simon Nkom urged investors to take advantage of reconnaissance licenses as a low-cost entry point into Nigeria’s mineral wealth. Other speakers, including Jon O’Callaghan and Paul Lalovich, stressed the need for governance, investor readiness, and innovative financing such as asset tokenisation to unlock early-stage funding.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi, represented at the event, said the discussions underscored the capital market’s role in accelerating sustainable growth and value creation.
“Nigeria stands at the threshold of a mining renaissance,” Alake added. “We have the resources and the political will that we need now is the capital, technology, and partnerships.”
