Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, has pitched the beneficiation of iron ore to Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer, deputy minister of minerals and energy of Saudi Arabia
The minister made the pitch on the sidelines of the just concluded ‘Resourcing Tomorrow’ at the annual Mines and Money expo in the London borough of Islighnton, United Kingdom
The minister discussed plans to extract iron ore and process steel in Nigeria, a statement signed by Kehinde Bamigbetan, special adviser to the Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals, said on Monday.
The statement said that Saudi Arabia currently boasts 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, noting 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 from Nigeria and assured the Nigerian counterpart that the government would consider Nigeria’s proposal for the domestication of the downstream value chain in the country.
A follow-up meeting is scheduled for Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, during the Future Metals Forum in January, 2025.
Alake also met other investors such as tin manufacturers Woodcross and Gerald Group, fund managers AMG and Business Idea Development, China, the statement added
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 outcome in line with the timeline and provide weekly updates.
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.
Dr Alake also held discussions with the Director of AMG Group, Ajay Commem and Managing Director of Business Idea ManagementCentere, China, Young Chan, on funding for mining projects in Nigeria.
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, Chan said he flew from China to meet the minister to offer opportunities of Chinese capital to the Nigerian mining sector. TAlake 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.
Alake concluded the business meetings with discussions with over 30 mining entrepreneurs drawn from all regions of the world.
The forum reviewed the proposal for the African Extractive 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.
Alake commended the initiative and promised to put it on the agenda of the AMSG at its next meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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