Nigeria, US Sign Framework to Boost Investment in $700 Billion Mineral Sector

Nigeria and the United States have signed a framework agreement aimed at deepening American investment in Nigeria’s mining sector and developing the country’s estimated $700 billion mineral resources.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday, September 23, in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, signed on behalf of Nigeria, while US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau represented the United States.

The framework provides a basis for stronger cooperation across Nigeria’s mineral value chain, covering geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure, and technical capacity building.

According to Alake, the agreement is intended to move beyond government-to-government cooperation and create opportunities for business-to-business transactions and investment in viable mining projects.

The minister said Nigeria could no longer afford to remain primarily an exporter of raw minerals while other countries captured much of the value generated from them. He said the government wants to expand local processing, develop technical skills, create quality jobs and increase opportunities for Nigerian businesses.

The agreement comes as Nigeria seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil and attract more private and foreign investment into its largely underdeveloped mining industry. The country has also been seeking to develop domestic value chains around critical minerals, including lithium and other resources important to modern technologies.

For the United States, the partnership provides an avenue for deeper engagement with Nigeria’s mineral sector as Washington works to diversify global supply chains for critical minerals used in areas such as electric vehicle batteries and renewable-energy technologies.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau described Nigeria as an important partner and said the agreement reflected the two countries’ interest in strengthening their economic relationship.

Alake said the next phase would involve identifying viable projects, mobilising investment and developing commercial partnerships that can generate benefits for both Nigerian and American businesses.

The framework does not itself represent a $700 billion investment. Rather, the $700 billion figure is the Nigerian government’s estimate of the value of the country’s mineral resources, while the agreement establishes a framework intended to attract investment and develop those resources.

For Nigeria, the focus will now shift from signing the framework to translating it into actual exploration, mining, processing and infrastructure projects that can create jobs and retain more value within the country.