The Federal Government of Nigeria has entered into a $1 billion iron ore steel deal with China, marking a significant milestone in its solid minerals development strategy.
According to a statement by Kehinde Bamigbetan, Special Adviser to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, the agreement was signed for Kogi State and is a key part of the government's push to prioritize local value addition in the solid minerals sector.
This deal is expected to contribute to Nigeria's economic growth and industrialization efforts significantly.
While addressing the promoters- Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited of Nigeria and Sinomach-He of China-on the sidelines of the visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to China in Beijing recently, Alake pledged the cooperation of the Federal Government with the promoters to ensure the delivery of the project as fast as possible.
He said the Federal Government has reversed the pit-to-port policy under which mining companies exported raw minerals to extraction with local value addition which is the best guarantee of jobs for the youths, skills transfer, and a better balance of trade between the country and her trading partners.
He noted that to promote local value addition, he has announced that applicants for licenses to mine must disclose plans for processing the raw minerals as part of the conditions for approval.
“The trade balance between Nigeria and China is over one billion dollars in favour of China because the minerals imported from Nigeria are essentially in raw forms. Once Nigeria starts exporting finished or semi-finished value-added mineral products to China and other trading partners, our trade balance will be more favorable, and our foreign exchange earnings will improve. With aggressive local value addition and the revenue from it, the prospects of reducing our debt burden in the nearest future are possible,” he said