Nigeria’s solid minerals exports rose to N354 billion in 2025, reflecting significant growth driven by ongoing reforms aimed at repositioning the mining sector as a major contributor to the nation’s economy.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, disclosed this while delivering the maiden Annual Lecture of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences at the University of Lagos.
According to Shinkafi, the 2025 export figure represents a sharp increase from N117.29 billion recorded in 2023. She added that exports reached N199.6 billion in the first nine months of 2024, with the full-year figure estimated at over N266 billion.
Shinkafi said revenue generated from the solid minerals sector for the Federation Account also recorded remarkable growth, rising from N16 billion in 2023 to N38 billion in 2024, before exceeding N70 billion in 2025.
She attributed the improved performance to reforms introduced under the Federal Government’s strategy to increase the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from less than one per cent currently to three per cent by 2030, in line with the Seven-Point Agenda of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake.
Reforms Driving Growth
Despite Nigeria’s vast mineral wealth, with more than 44 commercially viable minerals found in over 500 locations across the country including gold, lithium, iron ore, coal, bitumen, barite and gemstones—Shinkafi said the sector remains largely underdeveloped.
She noted that in 2025, solid minerals accounted for approximately 0.4 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports and about three per cent of non-oil exports, compared to nearly five per cent of total exports at independence.
According to her, the reform programme launched in September 2023 focuses on establishing the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, attracting private investment, improving geoscience data, formalising artisanal mining, combating illegal mining through Mining Marshals, revoking dormant mining licences and promoting local value addition.
“The same minerals and the same ground are now delivering far greater value because they are being governed differently,” she said.
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Shinkafi disclosed that reforms implemented since 2023 have attracted about $2.6 billion in fresh investment commitments.
She said this includes a $1.3 billion, 1.5-million-tonne alumina refinery, described as the largest mining investment in Nigeria’s history.
The SMDF boss further revealed that the sector recorded 33.5 per cent real growth in 2025, significantly outperforming Nigeria’s overall economic growth rate of 3.9 per cent.
Looking ahead, Shinkafi said the Federal Government is pursuing an ambitious plan to expand the solid minerals sector to about N30 trillion (approximately $21 billion) by 2030 as part of efforts to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil revenues.
Esther Ososanya is an investigative journalist with Pinnacle Daily, reporting across health, business, environment, metro, Fct and crime. Known for her bold, empathetic storytelling, she uncovers hidden truths, challenges broken systems, and gives voice to overlooked Nigerians. Her work drives national conversations and demands accountability one powerful story at a time.