Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have partnered to extract iron ore and process steel in Nigeria. Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, and Khalid Al-Musdaifer, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy, initiated the partnership during a meeting.
Kehinde Bamigbetan, the minister’s special adviser, announced that the collaboration aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to harness Nigeria’s mineral resources for industrialisation.
“The partnership leverages Nigeria’s mineral resources to drive industrialisation, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” the statement read.
Alake highlighted the economic benefits of processing iron ore into steel locally instead of exporting raw materials, emphasising that finished steel products have much greater value in the global market.
He also noted Saudi Arabia’s interest in obtaining iron ore from Nigeria, given its expertise in the steel industry. The statement confirmed a follow-up meeting in January 2025 in Riyadh during the Future Metals Forum.
