Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau during the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. Photo courtesy of @AlakeDele.
Nigeria and the United States have signed a framework agreement aimed at attracting American investment into Nigeria’s estimated $700 billion mineral sector, as the West African country seeks to diversify its economy and increase domestic mineral processing.
The agreement, signed on Wednesday, September 23, at Nigeria’s Mission House in New York, provides a framework for cooperation in mineral exploration, development, processing, infrastructure and technical capacity building.
According to Reuters, the deal was signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Alake described the agreement as an important step towards strengthening bilateral cooperation and unlocking the country’s vast mineral resources, including lithium, gold, tin, iron ore and phosphate.
“This is an important step in strengthening Nigeria-US cooperation around our mineral resources, valued at about $700 billion,” Alake said.
“The framework covers geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure, and technical capacity,” he added.
The agreement comes as the United States seeks to diversify its critical mineral supply chains and strengthen partnerships with resource-rich African countries. Demand for minerals such as lithium has increased because of their importance in electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy technologies.
According to Deutsche Welle, Nigeria hopes to attract investment into its largely underdeveloped mining industry and encourage local mineral refining, creating jobs and retaining more economic value within the country.
Alake said Nigeria wanted to move away from exporting unprocessed minerals while other countries benefited from their processing and manufacturing.
“Nigeria cannot remain a source of raw materials while others capture most of the value. We want more local processing, quality jobs, stronger skills and greater opportunities for Nigerian businesses,” he said.
The minister added that the government would identify viable projects, mobilise investments and establish commercial partnerships to translate the agreement into tangible economic benefits.
He said: “Now comes the harder and more important work: moving from agreement to implementation. A signature is a promise, results are the proof.”
The framework is also expected to support President Bola Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda and promote industrial development beyond Nigeria’s traditional dependence on oil.
Landau said Washington regarded Nigeria as an important regional partner and expressed the US government’s commitment to supporting its economic growth.
“The signal we are sending is that the United States and Nigeria are partners,” he said.
“Under President Trump and President Tinubu’s leadership, the United States and Nigeria have done many things together in the last one and a half years that we’ve never done before. I think we would like to keep building on that momentum,” Landau added.
The agreement also comes amid growing competition between the United States and China for access to Africa’s critical mineral resources. Chinese companies have already established a significant presence in Nigeria’s emerging lithium industry.
Nigeria hopes the partnership will help attract new investment, strengthen its mining value chain and create more opportunities for domestic businesses.
