The Federal Government of Nigeria and France have reached an agreement to collaborate on joint projects aimed at promoting and diversifying the value chain of critical minerals in the solid minerals sectors of both countries.
Critical minerals like copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements are essential for clean energy technologies and the agreement, announced by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister, Segun Tomori, on Sunday, is expected to create new opportunities, particularly in remediating over 2,000 abandoned mining pits in Nigeria.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the official visit of President Bola Tinubu to France and includes collaboration on research, training and student exchanges between France and Nigeria for skills transfer. This agreement comes in the wake of recent mining disasters in Nigeria, where at least 65 people lost their lives in separate mining pit collapses.
A key element of the MoU is the promotion of sustainable mining practices, focusing on reducing the environmental impact of mining activities. This includes minimizing carbon emissions, water consumption and mitigating climate change effects. The agreement also involves establishing joint extractive and processing projects, with co-financing from both public and private entities, to secure and diversify the supply of critical minerals and support decarbonization efforts in energy projects.
Dr. Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister for Solid Minerals Development, signed on behalf of Nigeria, while Mr. Benjamin Gallezot, France’s Inter-Ministerial Delegate for Critical Ores and Metals, represented France. Both nations agreed to adopt international best practices in project execution, ensuring improved living conditions for communities affected by mining activities and prioritizing transparency.
As part of the agreement, regular bilateral and multilateral training, seminars, and events will be organized to enhance the capacity of administrators in the critical metals sector. These initiatives aim to boost the effectiveness of institutions managing the sector’s value chain.
Minister Alake described the deal as a significant step in the Tinubu administration’s efforts to make Nigeria’s solid minerals sector more internationally competitive. He emphasized that the partnership would help attract French investors into the Nigerian mining sector.
