SMDF says exports have risen by over 2,000% since 2023, while government targets a ₦30 trillion mining industry by 2030…..
Nigeria’s solid minerals sector recorded a major leap in export performance in 2025, with earnings climbing to ₦354 billion, reflecting the impact of ongoing reforms aimed at transforming mining into a key driver of economic growth.
The latest figure represents an increase of more than 2,000 per cent compared with the ₦117.29 billion recorded in 2023. It also marks a significant rise from the ₦199.6 billion generated during the first nine months of 2024, with full-year exports for that year estimated to have exceeded ₦266 billion.
Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Fatima Shinkafi, disclosed the figures while delivering the maiden Annual Lecture of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences at the University of Lagos.
She said the strong performance reflects the success of reforms introduced by the Federal Government to reposition the mining sector and increase its contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from less than one per cent to three per cent by 2030.
According to Shinkafi, the reforms are being implemented under the Seven-Point Agenda of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake.
Despite Nigeria’s vast mineral wealth, including more than 44 commercially viable minerals spread across over 500 locations, she noted that the sector remains largely underdeveloped.
The country’s mineral resources include gold, lithium, iron ore, coal, bitumen, barite and a wide range of gemstones.
“In 2025, solid mineral exports of about ₦354 billion accounted for roughly 0.4 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports and about three per cent of non-oil exports, compared with nearly five per cent of total exports at independence,” Shinkafi said.
She also disclosed that revenue generated for the Federation Account has grown sharply since the reform programme began.
According to her, earnings increased from ₦16 billion in 2023 to ₦38 billion in 2024, before surpassing ₦70 billion in 2025, representing a 337.5 per cent increase over the two-year period.
Shinkafi attributed the improvement to policy reforms that have strengthened governance across the mining industry.
“The same minerals and the same ground are now delivering far greater value because they are being governed differently,” she said.
The SMDF boss said the government’s reform agenda, launched in September 2023, is focused on creating a more competitive and investment-friendly mining sector.
Key initiatives include the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, improved geoscience data, formalisation of artisanal mining activities, stronger action against illegal mining through the deployment of Mining Marshals, revocation of inactive mining licences and increased emphasis on local mineral processing and value addition.
She revealed that the reforms have already attracted about $2.6 billion in fresh investment commitments since 2023.
Among the projects is a $1.3 billion alumina refinery with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, which she described as the largest single mining investment ever recorded in Nigeria.
Shinkafi added that the solid minerals sector recorded 33.5 per cent real growth in 2025, significantly outperforming Nigeria’s overall economic growth rate of 3.9 per cent during the same period.
The Federal Government is targeting a 25-fold expansion of the mining industry, with the goal of growing the sector into a ₦30 trillion ($21 billion) contributor to the Nigerian economy by 2030.
