Federal Government Allocates $630 Million Toward Mining Exploration for 2025
Nigeria has earmarked ₦1 trillion (around $630 million) to ramp up mining exploration efforts in 2025, Mines Minister Dele Alake announced via social media on Sunday, May 25. This major investment forms part of the government’s broader plan to revitalize and position the mining sector for sustained growth and global competitiveness.
Despite holding an estimated $700 billion in mineral resources, including lithium, gold, and iron ore, mining currently contributes only about 1% to Nigeria’s GDP. The sector remains underutilized, with limited investment and exploration to date.
Minister Alake explained that the sector was significantly underperforming when the current administration took office, generating just ₦6 billion in 2023. That figure had grown to ₦38 billion by the end of 2024, a result he attributes to improved policies and reforms. Prior to 2023, only $2 million had been spent on mineral exploration nationally.
The newly allocated funds are intended to improve the quality of geological data and strengthen mineral mapping capabilities—key steps in attracting serious private-sector investment. Alake stressed that the absence of credible data has long deterred international interest in Nigeria’s mining potential.
This funding push also supports the African Union’s Africa Mining Vision, which calls for stronger national exploration capacities to develop robust mining industries across the continent.
However, specific plans for deploying the funds—including which minerals and regions will be prioritized—have yet to be disclosed. The government has not released further details on implementation strategies or the timeline for exploration initiatives.
“We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday’s burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it factorial non.”
Rebert Kosta
Growth and meaning of mechanical technology
Industry’s standard dummy text ever since the when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages.
Engineering and mechanics money for a better future.
Industry’s standard dummy text ever since the when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages.