Executive Summary
Nigeria’s minerals and mining sector is still largely underdeveloped despite its glorious past and abundance of mineral resources for development, including high-value metallic minerals, industrial minerals, and energy minerals.
In 2015, the sector contributed approximately 0.33% to the gross domestic product of the country. This contribution is a reversal from the historically higher percentages (about 4-5% in the 1960s-70s). However, following a decade of reforms starting in 1999, this contribution represents a cautiously optimistic restart of the development of the sector. The decade of reform saw key changes including, the passage of a new Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (2007), a Nigerian Mineral and Metals Policy (2008), the creation of a modern Mining Cadastre system, the refinement of the tax code, and the expansion in airborne mapping of the country to sharpen knowledge of the mineral endowments. As important as these progress steps have been, Nigeria can and should do more. The sector faces several challenges with geosciences data and information, Industry participants, Stakeholders, Institutions, Governance and other enablers of the sector.
Barrier Type |
Severity |
Summary of Constraints/Challenges |
Geosciences data and information |
Moderate to High |
Nigeria, despite recent progress, has a weak mechanism for gathering, disseminating and archiving critical geological data required by investors and policy makers |
Industry Participants |
Moderate to High |
Operators across mining value chain face a range of challenges from insufficient infrastructure to policy uncertainty that together constrain investor confidence |
Stakeholders |
Moderate |
Decline of industry reduced the focus and leverage of key stakeholders, hence flows into the sector e.g. resources, talent and partnerships declined |
Institutions and Governance |
Moderate |
Ministry’s organisational design and regulatory agencies mix needs to be refined to ensure clear enforcement of its rules and separation of powers between the states and the Federal Government strictly enforced |
Key Enablers |
Moderate to High |
Ancillary requirements for the proper functioning of the minerals and mining ecosystem such as talented labour, infrastructure – e.g. railroad, competitive financing systems, mine and asset security, and related support services – are missing |