The agreement is designed to attract American investment, expand local processing and develop Nigeria’s mineral value chains.
Nigeria and the United States have signed a framework agreement aimed at deepening American investment in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector and developing the country’s estimated $700 billion mineral resource base.
The agreement was signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at Nigeria’s Mission House in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The framework will support cooperation in geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure and technical capacity building. It is also expected to provide a basis for business-to-business partnerships across the country’s mineral value chains.
Nigeria US minerals investment targets local value
Alake said the agreement marked an attempt to move the country beyond its traditional role as an exporter of raw materials by encouraging more processing and value creation within the country.
He said Nigeria wanted to use its mineral resources to develop local industries, strengthen technical skills, create jobs and expand opportunities for Nigerian businesses.
“Some agreements manage the present, and some agreements shape the future. The framework we sign today belongs to the second kind,” Alake said.
He said Nigeria and the US shared an interest in building secure and resilient critical-mineral supply chains backed by responsible investment.
The minister said the framework would cover the full chain from geological information and exploration to mineral development, processing, infrastructure and skills development.
The Federal Government has estimated the country’s mineral resources at about $700 billion, although that figure represents the estimated value of the country’s resource base rather than investment already secured under the new agreement.
Alake said the agreement was aligned with the economic diversification and industrialisation objectives of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He, however, stressed that the signing itself would not determine the success of the initiative.
“Now comes the harder and more important work: moving from agreement to implementation. A signature is a promise, results are the proof,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria and the US will identify viable projects, mobilise investments and develop commercial partnerships in the coming months.
US pledges deeper partnership
Landau said Washington viewed Nigeria as a regional power and was committed to strengthening its economic partnership with the country.
He said the framework would support greater prosperity in both countries and described the agreement as a signal of closer cooperation between Abuja and Washington.
“The signal we are sending is that the United States and Nigeria are partners,” Landau said.
He added that the two countries had made progress in their relationship over the past 18 months under Presidents Donald Trump and Bola Tinubu and expressed a desire to build on that momentum.
The agreement comes as the Nigerian government intensifies efforts to attract foreign capital into the mining sector while increasing domestic processing and reducing dependence on the export of unprocessed minerals. Recent reporting on the pact similarly identified local value addition, investment and technical cooperation as its central objectives.
Officials and stakeholders who witnessed the signing included Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development Yusuf Yabo, Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office Director-General Simon Nkom, Solid Minerals Development Fund Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi and Nigeria Solid Minerals Company Chief Executive Officer Martin Imonitie.
The US delegation included Deputy Assistant Secretary for West African Affairs Rich Michaels, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southern Africa, Foreign Assistance and Critical Minerals Chris Kulukundis, Senior Policy Adviser to the Deputy Secretary Wyatt Toehlkeke and Jitu Sardar.
The next phase will depend on whether the framework produces identifiable projects, actual investment and expanded processing capacity, rather than remaining at the level of bilateral commitments. Alake’s emphasis on implementation reflects that distinction.
