The Federal Government has set an ambitious target to expand Nigeria’s solid minerals sector to about N30tn by 2030, positioning mining as a central pillar of its economic diversification drive.
Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Fatima Shinkafi, outlined the plan while delivering a keynote address titled Building Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Future: The Power of Academia, Government and Industry in Partnership at the University of Lagos.
Shinkafi said the administration’s reforms aim to grow the sector 25-fold and raise its contribution to three per cent of Gross Domestic Product, up from less than one per cent at present. She noted that despite hosting more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, Nigeria’s mining industry remains underdeveloped and heavily underutilised.
According to her, the sector’s recent performance shows what is possible under tighter regulation and better governance. Federation revenue from mining rose from about N16bn in 2023 to over N70bn in 2025, an increase of more than 337 per cent, while the industry grew by 33.5 per cent in real terms, far outpacing the wider economy.
Shinkafi linked these gains to the Seven-Point Agenda of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake. The programme includes establishing the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, attracting private capital, strengthening geoscience data through the Nigeria Minerals Decision Support System, formalising artisanal miners, deploying Mining Marshals against illegal operations, revoking more than 2,500 dormant titles and promoting local value addition.
She disclosed that the reforms have attracted about $2.6bn in fresh investment commitments, including a landmark $1.3bn alumina refinery project described as the largest single mining investment in Nigeria’s history.
To deepen the role of universities, Shinkafi unveiled the Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment, EMERGE, billed as the country’s first dedicated competitive funding scheme for geoscience research. The programme will finance up to 70 per cent of eligible exploration and critical minerals projects, and fully fund approved research and development proposals, while offering technical mentoring and investment-readiness support.
She urged Nigerian universities to submit high-quality proposals capable of unlocking new mineral discoveries and processing technologies, and encouraged female students to pursue careers in mining and geosciences, stressing that knowledge and innovation, not gender, determine success in the industry.
University of Lagos Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, and the Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences, Professor Olayinka Asekun, welcomed the partnership, saying it would create practical pathways from academic research to commercial mining projects and support Nigeria’s broader economic transformation agenda.
