Nigeria’s mineral value chains must grow if the country is to become more economically diversified and less dependent on oil. Rich mineral reserves in the nation, including coal, lithium, and gold, offer enormous potential for producing high-value goods that can boost the GDP of the entire nation.
Nigeria produced about 1.5 million metric tonnes of solid minerals in 2021; its exports of gold alone brought in about $500 million. Nonetheless, the nation has mostly concentrated on exporting raw minerals, which reduces possible income. Nigeria can boost the financial gains from its mineral resources by creating domestic processing facilities and improving value chains.
Adding value increases income and generates employment prospects. As an example, developing gold refining plants might produce thousands of jobs across many industries, including manufacturing, logistics, and services. Improvements to the mineral value chain have the potential to bring in an additional $3 billion in government revenue annually, according to a research released by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
Value chain development also encourages entrepreneurship and helps small firms in the area. Nigeria can develop a robust mining industry that helps the country’s surrounding people by fostering an environment that supports the emergence of allied sectors, such as the production and supply of equipment.
The National Mineral Policy, which highlights the necessity of local processing and value addition, is one of the measures to promote mineral value chains that the government is actively supporting. Partnerships with overseas investors and technology companies are also being encouraged to bring in the required funds and experience.
The development of mineral value chains is vital for Nigeria’s economic diversification policy. The nation can lessen its dependency on oil income, generate jobs, and optimise the benefits of its natural richness by emphasising value addition and domestic processing.
