Nigeria woos U.S. solid minerals investors

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has led the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company (NSMC) delegation to the White House in Washington, D.C., United States, for high-level talks on investment.

Mr Alake’s special assistant on media, Lara-Owoeye-Wise, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja,  said the delegation had discussions with President  Donald Trump’s Aide and Diana London of DCI Group.

Ms Owoeye-Wise said the meeting, which focused on strengthening Nigeria-U.S. cooperation, was held with David Copley, special assistant to the president and senior director for global supply chain at the U.S. National Security Council.

She said the meeting aimed to deepen the Nigeria–United States strategic partnership and drive increased investment into Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.

“The meeting also focused on advancing collaboration across the critical minerals value chain, including geological exploration, mining, mineral processing, value addition and refining, while strengthening secure and resilient supply chains for minerals critical to the global energy transition.”

She said the delegation also held discussions with Diana London, the chief executive officer of DCI Group, on opportunities to deepen investment in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector and strengthen cooperation across the critical minerals value chain.

According to her, the discussions covered geological exploration, mining, mineral processing, value addition and refining, as well as efforts to develop secure and resilient supply chains for minerals critical to the global energy transition.

The engagement, she said, aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises economic diversification, industrialisation, job creation and attraction of strategic foreign investment.

She added that it also reinforces the growing Nigeria-U.S. partnership through investment-driven cooperation aimed at promoting sustainable mineral development, local value addition and shared economic prosperity. NAN