The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Mineral Development, has announced a strategy to attract investment to the mining sector, incorporating tax waivers on imported mining equipment.
Dele Alake, the minister of the sector, conveyed this information during a meeting with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Bandar AlKhorayef, at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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During the discussion, Alake underscored the significance of forming partnerships and highlighted the crucial role of Nigeria’s abundant critical minerals in the global energy transition.
He emphasised the need for investments in local value addition through solid mineral processing, leading to the establishment of factories within Nigeria and generating employment to boost the economy.
According to him, “We need a lot of investments in exploration, exploitation, extraction, processing, and local value addition. We realise that we must look at regions outside of Africa to collaborate, further consolidate, and enhance our capacity to explore and exploit the natural resources that we have.
“For us to maximally utilise, exploit, and derive maximum revenue for our own economic and infrastructural development, we need to have a very solid partnership with nations like Saudi Arabia.”
The Nigerian team expressed their willingness to collaborate with Saudi Arabian counterparts to refine and strategise initiatives within a specified timeframe.
Alake also mentioned the upcoming implementation of an enhanced security framework to safeguard mining areas effectively.
Bandar AlKhorayef, the Saudi Arabian counterpart, echoed Nigeria’s perspective on the essential diversification of the economy, particularly emphasising the mining sector.
AlKhorayef emphasised the importance of collaboration and assured that Saudi Arabia would prioritise local value addition in the partnership.
