‘Nigeria has minerals that can power electric cars’ — minister woos investors

Olamilekan Adegbite, minister of mines and steel development, says Nigeria has “the minerals of the future” that can power electric cars and phones.

Adegbite told investors during one of the investors’ forums at the Mining Conference in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, according to a statement signed by Ayodeji Adeyemi, special assistant on media to the minister.

“The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, while speaking to a hall full of international investors, said that Nigeria has the mineral of the future that can power electric cars and phones.” the statement reads.

The minister asked the investors to invest in the Nigerian mining sector, describing it as one of the most investor-friendly in the world.

He said some major mining companies have started showing interest in the country’s mining sector.

“We have strengthened governance and transparency in the sector and provided assurance to investors through the upgrade, automation, and decentralisation of the Mining Cadastre Office,” he said.

“We are improving the connectivity between investors and the public with important geological information through the establishment of a Nigeria Geo-Data Centre at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency.

“As we deepen our efforts to revitalise the mining sector, we are doing so with lessons learnt from a half-century of resource extraction. We recognise, for instance, that it is not enough to seek investments merely for the sake of exploitation and extraction.

“Rather than writing this new chapter of economic growth, our aim is to develop local industries, generate employment, and focus on resource beneficiation to create wealth along the mineral value chain.”

The minister said the federal government has invested $50 million to explore gold, lithium, and other metals.

“To date, the country has discovered over 44 minerals occurring in commercial quantities across the 36 states and the federal capital Territory. These include gold, lithium, copper, cobalt, oxide, amongst others,” he added.