By Micah Jonah
January 14, 2026
The Federal Government has announced the commencement of operations at a high purity gold refining plant in Lagos, while three additional gold refineries are at different stages of development across the country and a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State is ready for commissioning.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, disclosed this on Tuesday, describing the projects as clear outcomes of the government’s value addition policy in the mining sector and a step toward positioning Nigeria as a leading minerals hub in Africa and a strategic global partner in critical minerals for the green energy transition.
Alake spoke during a meeting with the Saudi Arabian Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Al Khorayef, held ahead of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to a statement by the Special Assistant on Media to the minister, Segun Tomori, the meeting focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in solid minerals development and turning earlier engagements into practical results.
Alake said the operational Lagos refinery and the forthcoming lithium processing facility reflect the Federal Government’s determination to shift Nigeria from exporting raw minerals to in country processing and beneficiation.
He added that Nigeria is seeking stronger partnership with Saudi Arabia in areas such as capacity building, training of mining professionals, technology transfer and exploration, where Saudi Arabia has developed notable expertise.
The Minister noted that both countries have areas of strength and that structured agreements would allow for more meaningful and productive collaboration, especially in exploration and skills development.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s large landmass, abundance of critical minerals and rare earth elements needed by the global economy, stressing that partnerships should be anchored on fairness, equity and mutual benefit.
Recalling follow up engagements after the 2025 edition of the forum, Alake disclosed that a joint working group made up of officials from Nigeria and the Saudi Chamber of Commerce had been active over the past year and would present its report before the end of the current forum.
He identified mineral traceability, environmental social and governance standards and mine pit remediation as priority areas for collaboration, noting that traceability in particular improves investor confidence and should be central to any partnership, alongside clear timelines and strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
In his response, Al Khorayef reaffirmed Nigeria’s status as a long standing ally of Saudi Arabia and agreed on the need for a practical and actionable agreement on solid minerals development.
He proposed that the working group prepare a draft memorandum of understanding based on previous engagements for possible signing on the sidelines of the conference.
The Saudi Minister also encouraged Nigeria to use the Future Minerals Forum platform to showcase investment opportunities in its mining sector to Saudi investors and urged African countries to adopt advanced technologies in mining development, noting that Nigeria could benefit from Saudi Arabia’s progress in this area.
Nigeria has in recent years stepped up reforms in the mining sector, intensified efforts to curb illegal mining and introduced incentives and improved regulation to attract investment, alongside a renewed push for local processing of solid minerals.
The government considers lithium, gold and other critical minerals as key to economic diversification and Nigeria’s participation in global energy transition value chains amid rising global demand for battery and clean energy inputs.
