Nigeria solid minerals exports hit N354bn

Nigeria's solid minerals sector has experienced a dramatic upswing, with exports reaching N354 billion in 2025. This represents a staggering 2018% increase from the N117.29 billion recorded in 2023. For the first nine months of 2024, exports totaled N199.6 billion, with full-year estimates exceeding N266 billion. The revenue generated for the Federation Account has also seen substantial growth, climbing to over N70 billion in 2025, a 337.5% rise from N16 billion in 2023.

Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, Executive Secretary and CEO of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), attributed this improved performance to reforms implemented under the Federal Government's strategy. The plan aims to boost the sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from its current less than 1% to 3% by 2030. Despite Nigeria's wealth of over 44 commercially viable minerals, including gold, lithium, and iron ore, the sector has historically remained underdeveloped.

Shinkafi noted that in 2025, solid mineral exports constituted about 0.4% of Nigeria's total exports and approximately 3% of non-oil exports. This contrasts with nearly 5% of total exports at the time of independence. The reform agenda, launched in September 2023, focuses on establishing the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, attracting private investment, enhancing geological data, formalizing artisanal mining, combating illegal mining, and promoting local value addition.

"The same minerals and the same ground are now delivering far greater value because they are being governed differently," Shinkafi stated, highlighting the impact of the new governance approach. Federation revenue from the sector has surged from N16 billion in 2023 to N38 billion in 2024, surpassing N70 billion in 2025. The sector achieved a 33.5% real growth in 2025, significantly outperforming Nigeria's overall economic growth of 3.9%. Reforms since 2023 have attracted approximately $2.6 billion in investment commitments, including a $1.3 billion alumina refinery, marking the largest mining investment in Nigeria's history. The government aims for a 25-fold expansion of the sector to about N30 trillion ($21 billion) by 2030.

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The same minerals and the same ground are now delivering far greater value because they are being governed differently.