Nigeria attracts $2.6bn as revenue climbs to ₦70bn, says SMDF boss

Nigeria’s solid minerals sector is witnessing an unprecedented boom as revenue jumped from about ₦16 billion in 2023 to over ₦70 billion in 2025, representing a staggering 337 per cent increase in just two years.

Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Hajiya Fatima Umaru Shinkafi, disclosed that the sector also recorded a remarkable 33.5 per cent real growth in 2025, while reforms attracted fresh investment commitments worth about $2.6 billion, including a $1.3 billion alumina refinery described as the single biggest mining investment in Nigeria’s history.

Shinkafi made the disclosure at the maiden Annual Lecture of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences, University of Lagos (UNILAG), where she declared that stronger collaboration among government, industry and academia is the master key to unlocking Nigeria’s vast mineral wealth.

Delivering the keynote lecture titled, “Building Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Future: The Power of Academia, Government and Industry in Partnership,” she lamented that despite Nigeria’s deposits of more than 44 commercially viable minerals spread across over 500 locations, the sector still contributes less than one per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

She, however, said the story is changing under the Seven-Point Agenda of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Henry Dele Alake, with reforms already repositioning mining as a major driver of economic growth.

The SMDF boss also unveiled the Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment (EMERGE), describing it as Nigeria’s first competitive research funding platform dedicated to geoscience studies in universities.

According to her, the initiative will fund mineral exploration, critical minerals research and postgraduate studies, while equipping successful applicants with technical training and access to investment opportunities.

She challenged UNILAG researchers to seize the opportunity by submitting quality proposals, insisting that research remains the foundation for building a globally competitive mining industry.

Earlier, Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, said the university was proud to host the maiden lecture, noting that stronger partnerships between academia and government would transform research into national prosperity.

Also speaking, the pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences, Professor Olayinka Taiwo Asekun, described the event as a watershed moment for the faculty and pledged that UNILAG scholars would maximise the opportunities offered by the EMERGE programme.

In an emotional appeal, Shinkafi urged young women to embrace careers in science and mining, stressing that Nigeria’s hidden mineral wealth can only be fully unlocked through the innovation, skills and determination of the next generation.