Illustration by: Faith Emmanuel
The re-election of Dr Henry Oladele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development as the Chairman of the continental agenda-setting organization, the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) is more than an acknowledgement of his impactful first tenure as leader of that group. It is rather a mark of confidence that he has sufficient energy, ideas and nous to lead the group into the future. This is especially important as the minerals appears to have displaced oil in the estimate of powerful countries of the world, led by a more assertive Trumpian USA.
In what is probably his first exclusive media interview since he assumed office as Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Alake told TheMiners what this reelection means and what his policy focus as leader of the African solid minerals grouping is likely to be. He also shared his thoughts on the vibrant and upwardly growing Nigerian mining sector. Excerpts:
Q: Congratulations on your re-election as Chairman of the AMSG. Were you surprised by the vote of confidence in your leadership from your colleagues on the continent?
Alake: Not really. Recall that when I delivered my address that advocated the domestication of value addition as imperative to beneficiation in African countries at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh in 2024, the ministers of mining in Africa connected instantly with my message. That ignited the discussions which led to the idea of the Africa Minerals Support Group. Logically, there was a consensus that the person that articulated the vision would be in the best position to drive it. And that led to my choice as the pioneer chairman.
When we met at the Future Minerals Forum in January, 2025, we had a special session where we took stock of the progress achieved.
We developed a charter that enabled more countries to join, a secretariat that engaged partner institutions such as FMF and global mining corporations in collaborative ventures and positioned the AMSG in the international fora by holding side events at international conferences such as the United Nations General Assembly,UNGA.
The ministers were impressed with these achievements and passed a vote of confidence on me and my team.
In fact, in the last few months, there has been a groundswell of support as individual ministers of countries across Africa have been calling to appreciate our strides at AMSG. These movements apparently led to the crescendo of re-affirmation and re-election at the last FMF in Riyadh.
Q: Your leadership during the last tenure has pushed the gospel of value addition for African mineral resources. How far along have you gone in getting this integrated into the minerals policy of African nations?
Alake: Several African countries have recognized the importance of value addition in their mineral sectors as a strategy to enhance economic development, create jobs, and retain a larger share of mineral wealth within their borders. This shift often involves restricting the export of raw minerals and promoting local processing and manufacturing.
South Africa has long been a leader in mining, particularly in gold, platinum, and diamonds. The government has implemented beneficiation policies aimed at promoting local processing of minerals.
The AMSG encourages companies to invest in local processing and share more benefits with local communities.
Zambia, one of the largest copper producers in Africa, has introduced policies to increase local processing. The government has emphasized setting up refining and smelting plants to enhance value addition.
The government has considered restrictions on unrefined copper exports to support local processing initiatives.
Tanzania has enacted laws requiring that gold and other minerals be processed domestically before export. This includes the establishment of various gold refining plants.
The government promotes local content in mining operations to ensure that local communities benefit from the resources extracted in their regions.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), rich in cobalt, copper, and diamonds, has implemented measures to encourage local processing. The government has sought to limit the export of raw minerals to promote local industries.
Certain regulations have been introduced to ban the export of unprocessed minerals, aiming to increase revenues from mining.
Botswana has successfully transformed its diamond mining sector by creating a diamond trading and cutting industry. The government has collaborated with De Beers to establish the Botswana Diamonds Trading Company.
The focus on value addition has allowed Botswana to leverage its diamond wealth for broader economic development.
Uganda has developed a mineral policy that promotes local value addition, particularly in the mining of gold and other minerals. The government encourages investments in processing facilities.
The country has enacted regulations requiring that minerals be processed domestically before being exported.
Rwanda has made significant investments in processing minerals such as tin and tantalum. The government encourages the establishment of local processing plants. By promoting value addition, Rwanda aims to improve its trade balance and create local jobs.
The adoption of value addition policies in African countries represents a significant shift in the approach to mineral resource management. By restricting the export of raw minerals and promoting local processing, these nations aim to enhance economic growth, create jobs, and ensure that local communities benefit more from their natural resources. Overcoming the challenges associated with this approach will be crucial for realizing its full potential.
Q: Lithium and Gold appear to be the most promoted minerals in Nigeria at present. Why is this so and what efforts are you making to ensure other minerals also receive huge investment needed to raise their profile?
Alake: There is no iota of truth in this statement. In the first place, the old Roadmap that was launched in 2016 developed the concept of strategic minerals. These minerals were considered crucial to the rapid development of the Nigerian economy. The roadmap emphasised seven key minerals. These were gold for jewellery and investment, limestone for cement and construction, barite for oil and gas pipe management, lead/zinc for battery making, coal for electricity generation, iron ore for steel manufacturing and tin to support the electronic industry and plating.
Between 2016 and today, global sensitisation to climate change and consensus towards green economy have led to new value chains driven by the energy transition minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements. Under my watch, the Ministry is collaborating with the World Bank to develop a new roadmap which shall combine the strategic minerals with the critical minerals as Nigeria’s synthesis of the debate over what is critical and which minerals qualify.
Thus, while strategic minerals target the development of the domestic economy, the critical minerals seek to position Nigeria as a supplier of value added minerals in the global supply chain of energy transition minerals.
The reason is simple. On-going exploration by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency and private companies has revealed that Nigeria’s geology boasts of massive deposits of these minerals that the global energy transition minerals market needs to sustain the production electronic vehicles, technologies and appliances.
So we would cutting our nose to spite our face if we concentrate only on one strategic mineral and one energy transition mineral when nature has provided us bountiful deposits of the 11 key minerals.
Indeed, if your team has been opportuned to attend the conferences where we market our minerals to investors, you would have witnessed us showcasing over 44 minerals, the states they are found and the procedures investors must comply with to safely and responsibly mine minerals in our country.
Q: A recent source of controversy is the licensing of a gold refinery in Lagos. It was evident this was a private initiative, yet the NEF accused you of not facilitating its establishment in a northern state. How easy or difficult would it be for an investor, say the NEF if it wishes, to procure a license for gold refinery?
Alake: I think the matter has been dealt with appropriately and timeously and there is no more reason to flog a dead horse. We made it very clear that there was no suggestion in my announcement of the take-off of a new gold refinery in Lagos that it was a project of the Federal Government. That was the major goof. The company, Kian Smith has been on the project for many years and we feel proud to associate with it because it is another brilliant achievement of our value addition programme. The Northern Elders Forum realised it was wrong to have rushed to conclude, hastily and wrongly, on the issue.
Q: The creation of the Mining Marshals Corps has proven to be inspired. What efforts are you making to expand the number of this organisation to enable it adequately meet its obligations.
Alake: The establishment of Mining Marshals is the kinetic segment of the two-pronged strategy to tackle insecurity in the solid minerals sector. The non-kinetic approach is the formalisation of artisans into co-operatives. We created the marshals because we saw a huge gap in the system of law and order in the sector. Yes, there was the law, the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act and the regulations. But there was no structured machinery of coercion to ensure compliance. The implication was that when banditry, kidnapping and similar threats to the sovereignty of the Nigerian State became systematic terrorism, the Mining sector was not prepared to confront and combat it. Miners and people living in mineral-rich areas became the victims of this hiatus in the security structure. That was why the first wave of responses was generic. Soldiers, police, civil defence, in short, just any unit of the armed forces and civil agencies that could arrest the perpetrators and enforce order was welcome. Most of these agencies and their personnel had scant or little knowledge of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act. So they had to rely on the laws which set up their agencies to investigate and prosecute offences.
On assumption of office, I sat with my team and we reviewed the degenerating situation. There were companies which held licences in name while bandits were busy excavating their sites. Many licence owners were warned by communities under the siege of bandits not to attempt to visit the sites. These criminally sourced minerals were transported and shipped out of the country without diligent examination at check points and border controls because the personnel lacked specialised knowledge of the mining law,
It was therefor imperative to set up Mining Marshals as the sector’s sheriffs to establish law and order, stop criminality and economic sabotage and restore sanity across the value chain. The men and women drawn from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to serve as marshals are well trained in mining laws and operations.
On the occasion of its first anniversary last year, I announced plans to transform the Mining Marshals from its intervention, rapid response phase into a fully-fledged, 37-unit formation that would put boots to ground in all the states of the federation
and the Federal Capital Territory. This is one of the goals of our budget this year and I believe we shall achieve the objective.
