Uche Cecil Izuora
Nigeria is the critical step of boosting its mineral sector development and creating additional economic value from the untapped resources.
The country is seeking Turkish investment, technology and technical expertise to accelerate development of its largely untapped critical minerals sector as both countries move to implement a recently signed mining cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening supply chains and boosting local value addition.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Istanbul Natural Resources Summit, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Oladele Henry Alake, said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last month seeks to deepen bilateral ties and expand cooperation in mining, a sector Nigeria sees as holding significant untapped potential.
“The memorandum of understanding that was signed was to further consolidate the existing relationship between Türkiye and Nigeria,” Alake said.
The minister noted that the agreement followed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to Türkiye earlier this year, during which the two countries signed several agreements covering trade, defense, youth and sports.
Alake said Türkiye has expressed interest in Nigeria’s mining sector, while Nigeria is seeking investment and expertise to help develop its mineral resources.
“Nigeria has a very large expanse of land, and we’ve only covered a fraction of the area in Nigeria with exploration,” he said.
“Even within the 5% of the exploration we’ve done, we’ve discovered over 44 critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, tin, tantalum, and rare earth elements needed for the global transition to clean energy.”
He said the agreement could also support Türkiye’s efforts to diversify supply chains and strengthen energy security.
“Türkiye is also desirous of energy security and diversifying supply chains, and Nigeria offers a secure environment to assist the country in the supply chain,” he said.
According to Alake, technology transfer and capacity building are among the key pillars of the agreement.
“We need technology transfer. Türkiye, obviously, is technologically advanced,” he said. “Nigeria can leverage this relationship to gain a lot from Türkiye technologically.”
Alake said Turkish companies investing in Nigeria would bring equipment, expertise, technology and training opportunities for Nigerian professionals.
“When they come, they’re going to bring in their equipment, expertise, technology and training for Nigerian technical professionals. All of this is encapsulated in the capacity building,” he said.
The minister also highlighted Nigeria’s policy of local value addition, saying the country wants investors to process minerals locally rather than export raw ores.
“We are moving away from the old model of extraction and exploitation of the raw ores,” he said. “When you add value locally, even when you export the product, it attracts higher value and revenue for you. So, it’s a win-win situation for both the investor and Nigeria.”
Alake said the agreement also covers environmental sustainability, financing and foreign direct investment.
“The MoU we signed covers a comprehensive area of investment in mining, technology transfer, capacity building, funding, direct foreign investment and environmental sustainability,” he said. “These are all to ensure energy security, and it will be mutually beneficial to Türkiye and Nigeria.”
Addressing Turkish investors, Alake said Nigeria has introduced reforms aimed at making the mining sector more attractive to foreign investment, including the digitalization of licensing procedures.
“We have digitized our licensing operations such that it’s now easier to obtain mineral titles,” he said. “Once you fulfill those requirements online, you can obtain your license without any difficulty at all.”
He also said financial reforms have made it easier for investors to repatriate profits after meeting tax and royalty obligations.
On the implementation of the agreement, Alake said the two countries have established a joint working group to advance cooperation.
“The Minister of Energy of Türkiye and I have agreed on expediting action on all those agreements,” he said. “We’ve created a joint working group. There is a technical group on the Turkish side, and a technical group on the Nigerian side working to action all of these points.”
Alake also invited Turkish investors to participate in the development of Nigeria’s mineral resources, particularly critical minerals used in clean energy technologies.
“We’ve offered the Turkish investors to come in,” he said. “There’s still a lot to exploit as long as this is responsibly done.”