Saudi Arabia has indicated interest in Nigeria’s solid mineral. According to a statement yesterday by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kehinde Bamigbetan, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have initiated talks on the extraction and processing of iron ore into steel.

He stated that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy of Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Saleh Al-Musdaifer, advanced talks on the partnership at the just concluded Resourcing Tomorrow at the annual Mines and Money expo in London, United Kingdom.

According to the statement, Al-Mudaifer confirmed Saudi Arabia’s interest in sourcing iron ore for its steel industry and assured the minister that the government would consider Nigeria’s proposal for the domestication of the downstream value chain in the country.

The statement explained that a follow-up meeting has been scheduled for Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, during the Future Metals Forum in January 2025.

Alake during the meeting encouraged the Saudi government to be interested in the extraction and beneficiation of iron ore to steel in Nigeria.

He stated that the value-added exports would attract better prices than raw ores. According to the statement, Alake met other investors such as Business Idea Development, China, tin manufacturers Woodcross and Gerald Group, fund managers AMG. He said: “Set up by the mining investment group, Core International, the meeting yielded positive results.

Woodcross confirmed it had done a preliminary survey of tin mining in Jos and discovered evidence of sufficient tin ores to justify the long-term investment in processing that could meet current global demands.”

“Woodcross represented by its directors: Mehdi Ali and Hassan Dhanji, assured to make a final investment decision in February 2025.