By George Ozalla
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has disclosed that Nigeria’s solid minerals sector generated ₦68.1 billion in revenue alongside over $800 million in new investments, as ongoing reforms continue to reposition the industry away from the long-standing pit-to-port export model.
Alake made the disclosure on Wednesday, 29 April 2026, at the Africa Commodities Conference and Exhibition (ACCE 2026), held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. He was represented at the event by the Deputy Director in the Ministry, Mr. Etido Umoakpan.
He said the reform agenda is targeted at strengthening local processing, promoting value addition, and building a more industrialized mining ecosystem capable of retaining greater economic value within Nigeria. He added that the policy direction also focuses on improved regulatory oversight, enhanced investor confidence, and expanded benefits to host communities.
The Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Hajia Fatimah Umar Shinkafi, in a paper presented on her behalf by her Special Assistant, Nuhu Yahaya, outlined key structural and operational challenges affecting the sector.
She identified insufficient geoscience data, weak infrastructure, and socio/geopolitical risks as major constraints. She also highlighted high upfront capital requirements and limited access to long-term financing as factors limiting sectoral expansion and private investment inflow.
Michael Akueche, Convener of the Africa Commodities Conference and Exhibition (ACCE) and Chief Executive Officer of Mica Equity Allocation Limited, advocated for the expansion of cooperative societies, describing them as central to attracting investment and restructuring the mining sector.
He said stronger cooperative frameworks would help integrate artisanal miners, informal operators, youth groups, and local mining stakeholders into organised systems capable of accessing finance, training, and technical support. According to him, such expansion would significantly improve job creation, particularly in mineral-rich local government areas where mining activities remain largely informal.
Stakeholders at the conference said the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Ministry’s seven-point development strategy, which encourages undocumented miners to register under recognized cooperative structures.
The conference brought together government officials, miners, youth leaders, investors, development partners, and industry stakeholders to review ongoing reforms and explore investment opportunities in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
Major highlight of the occasion was the presentation of a reform document developed in collaboration with Mica Equity Allocation Limited to the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), which was received by Nuhu Yahaya on behalf of the Executive Secretary.
The document focuses on the training, expansion, and establishment of mining cooperatives across local government areas nationwide. It is aimed at formalizing artisanal miners, informal operators, and youth-based mining groups into structured cooperative systems that can access financing, technical support, and capacity-building opportunities within regulated frameworks. They added that the approach is expected to improve compliance, reduce illegal mining activities, and expand grassroots participation in the sector, while strengthening the link between mining operations and national economic development goals.
