Nigeria has made a significant breakthrough in its mining sector, with the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, announcing the discovery of a world-class polymetallic mineral province in Kaduna State, containing platinum group metals, gold, nickel, copper, lithium, and rare earth elements.
Alake made the disclosure on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit 2026 in Abuja, describing it as one of the most consequential developments in Nigeria’s mining history in recent years.
The announcement came on the heels of a separate unveiling — an estimated 3.3 million metric tonnes of lithium reserves by Steron Mining and Company Limited at its Abuja mining site, revealed during a facility tour organised for summit delegates.
The minister said the newly discovered province was verified by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency and identified through a collaboration between the agency and a private company. He stressed that the deposits are of exceptionally high grade, making them increasingly valuable for clean energy technologies and advanced manufacturing.
“This is the first time I am announcing this publicly,” Alake said. “Recent exploration breakthroughs verified by our Nigerian Geological Survey Agency have unveiled a world-class polymetallic mineral province in Kaduna State, consisting of platinum group metals, precious and critical mineral deposits — including significant quantities of gold, nickel, copper, lithium, and rare earth elements of exceptionally high grades.”
He added that the discovery positions Nigeria among the emerging global destinations for strategic mineral investment.
Alake also used the occasion to signal a shift in Nigeria’s approach to its mineral wealth, saying the country is moving away from raw ore exports toward domestic processing and value addition.
“For too long, Nigeria’s mineral endowment did not translate into sufficient national value,” he said, pointing to what he described as a longstanding paradox of vast potential undermined by weak beneficiation, poor geological data, and excessive informality in the sector.
The minister noted that investors have already committed billions of dollars to processing projects that are expected to reshape the structure of Nigeria’s economy.
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