The Federal Government has inaugurated a high-purity gold refinery in Lagos, as part of a broader push to strengthen Nigeria’s local mineral processing capacity and position the country as a leading hub for critical minerals in Africa.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, disclosed the developments on Tuesday during a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, ahead of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to Alake, the Lagos refinery is already operational. “The projects mark tangible outcomes of our value-addition policy in the mining sector, moving Nigeria away from exporting raw minerals toward in-country processing and beneficiation”, he stated.
The Minister highlighted Nigeria’s abundant mineral resources and stressed that the country is keen to strengthen partnerships with Saudi Arabia in areas such as capacity-building, mining technology transfer, exploration, and ESG-compliant operations. He noted that a joint working group with the Saudi Chamber of Commerce has been active since last year, and will present a report before the conclusion of the Forum.
Minister Al-Khorayef praised Nigeria’s investment opportunities and called for actionable agreements to accelerate development in the mining sector, particularly in critical minerals. He urged Nigeria and other African nations to adopt advanced mining technologies and showcase investment potentials at the Future Minerals Forum.
