Is Nigeria ready for Mining Indaba 26 (MI26)?

Nigeria arrives at MI26 with momentum: a refreshed institutional architecture, an active licensing “sanitisation” drive that has returned dormant titles to the market, high-profile push into critical-minerals processing, and headline figures the government is using to signal progress and attract capital.

That said, gaps remain across predictable regulation, downstream processing capacity, infrastructure, investor confidence on governance and security, and the supply-chain readiness needed to convert exploration interest into bankable projects.

How effectively Nigeria translates reforms into verifiable, investible pipelines and how it frames that story at Indaba 26 will determine whether it moves from headline promise to near-term deals.

Why MI26 matters for Nigeria now

Mining Indaba is the continent’s premier mining investment platform; MI26’s theme is:

“Stronger together-Progress through partnerships”, foregrounds partnership, value chains and downstreaming.

For Nigeria, which has historically under-exploited its mineral base while depending on oil revenues, MI26 is a chance to reset external perceptions and to anchor inbound capital into projects that support jobs, import substitution, and critical-minerals supply chains for the energy transition. Attending MI26 is not merely a marketing exercise; it’s a place to surface concrete projects, forge offtake and processing partnerships, and secure technical and finance partners for industrialisation.

What Nigeria brings to the table- recent, verifiable progress

1. Regulatory sanitisation and title clean-up. The federal government has revoked large numbers of dormant or non-compliant mineral titles and strengthened the cadastre process to reduce licence racketeering, a move intended to improve the investment climate and free up attractive parcels. This “use it or lose it” enforcement has been widely reported and is central to the government’s narrative.

2. Policy re-organisation and institutional focus. The Ministry structure was split and retooled to create clearer upstream (mining) and downstream (steel/processing) policy responsibilities, positioned by officials as a way to align licensing, local content and industrialisation goals.

3. Publicised injection of investment and processing plans. Abuja has promoted figures and projects, including government announcements of substantial foreign processing projects and planned rare-earth / lithium processing facilities to show credible pipelines for downstream manufacturing. State releases cite large investments and boosted revenue as evidence of reform traction.

4. Digitalisation and cadastre modernisation. The mining cadastre has been digitised (eMC+ and other systems), improving title transparency and speeding application/monitoring processes, an important signal to investors about reduced procedural friction.

These points will be the cornerstone of Nigeria’s MI26 pitch: credibility (we fixed licensing), pipeline (we have projects and processing ambitions), and access (we digitalised cadastre and reduced red tape).

Readiness assessment and the six dimensions

1. Policy & regulatory clarity
Strengths: Visible enforcement (revocations), local-processing mandates and tighter licensing create a short-term narrative of seriousness.

Risks/Gaps: Investors prize predictability. Frequent sudden policy shifts, poorly explained local-processing rules, or ad hoc enforcement can chill investment. Clear, published timelines for licence re-allocation, transparent dispute-resolution, and stable fiscal/royalty regimes are still incomplete in public view.

2. Institutional capacity & governance
Strengths: Restructuring ministries and stronger cadastre functions help streamline approvals; public relations emphasize anti-corruption and compliance.

Risks/Gaps: Capacity at subnational levels, variability in permitting timelines between
states, and effective enforcement of environmental and social safeguards remain uncertain. Demonstrable third-party audits, functioning environmental regulators, and independent titling verification will be key.

3. Project pipeline & bankability
Strengths: Reported $800m+ in foreign commitments and new processing projects (government claims) are powerful headlines to attract meetings.

Risks/Gaps: Headlines do not equal bankable, finance-ready projects. Investors will want JORC/NI-43-101 standard resource statements, feasible mine plans, off-takes, community consent, and environmental/social impact assessments (ESIAs). Nigeria must present a slate of shovel-ready assets with clear de-risking steps.

4. Downstream processing & value addition
Strengths: Announcements of processing plants (lithium/rare earths) and an explicit push for local beneficiation match global demand for secure critical-minerals value chains.

Risks/Gaps: Building processing plants requires reliable feedstock, power, water, trained workforce and logistics. Nigeria needs to show demonstrable progress on site selection, partner commitments, and power/logistics plans, not just MOUs.

5. Infrastructure, logistics & services
Strengths: Nigeria’s large domestic market and ports offer potential advantages if logistics are managed.

Risks/Gaps: Roads, rail links, and energy supply to remote deposits remain weak relative to South Africa or Ghana. MI26 investors will look for credible mitigation plans (blended finance for infrastructure, PPPs, corridors).

6. ESG, community consent & security
Strengths: Crackdown on illegal mining and the creation of mining marshals are sold as steps to improve security and revenue capture.

Risks/Gaps: Nigeria must demonstrate effective community engagement practices, clear land/FPIC processes, remediation plans, and measurable reductions in illegal mining. Without this, reputational and offtake risk from responsible buyers will persist.

The endgame: what Nigeria likely hopes to achieve at MI26

Nigeria’s public and private messaging suggests a three-part endgame for MI26:

1. Attract anchor partners for processing and critical-minerals value chains.
Convert interest into investment commitments (MOUs → HoTs → debt/equity commitments for lithium, rare earths and other strategic commodities.

2. Lock in technical partners and capital for upgrading the project pipeline.
Secure technical partners (majors, mid-tiers, engineering firms) to produce bankable feasibility studies and JORC/NI 43-101 reporting, enabling mobilization of project finance.

3. Rebrand Nigeria as an investible, downstream-oriented mining jurisdiction.
Move the narrative from “untapped, risky frontier” to “partnerable source of critical minerals with downstream ambitions,” leveraging headline progress (licence cleanups, cadastre digitalisation, and announced plants).

Messaging & positioning- a suggested playbook for MI26

Nigeria should avoid vague promises and instead use MI26 to project three certainties:

1. Evidence over rhetoric: bring a short list (3–6) of bankable, due-diligence projects with public fact sheets: resource reports, permit status, ESIA status, local partner, and precise capital need (USD X million). Investors want data not forecasts.

2. Show, don’t tell, progress on governance: publish a concise two-page “reform scoreboard” showing revocations completed, cadastre digital metrics (e.g., eMC+ operational metrics), timelines for title re-allocation and an independent audit mechanism. Investors respond to verifiable, time-bound reforms.

3. Downstream narrative anchored in partnerships: promote specific public-private masterplans for processing hubs (site, anchor investor, off-taker pipeline, ETA for plant commissioning). Position Nigeria as a partner in the critical-minerals value chain rather than merely an upstream supplier.

4. Risk mitigation packages: offer clear, replicable de-risking instruments: state credit guarantees for certain first-of-a-kind plants, one-stop shop for permitting, fast-track grid access corridors, and blended finance vehicles. This reduces perceived zovereign and project execution risk.

5. ESG and host-community offer: present a standardized host-community engagement and revenue-sharing model tied to benefits (jobs, contracting targets, local processing quotas), this reduces social licence risk and attracts ESG-sensitive investors.

Likely investor reception & geopolitical overlay

1. Investors focused on critical minerals (battery supply chains) will view Nigeria with strong interest, large resource upside + geographic advantage in servicing African industrialisation and western supply-chain diversification. But they will demand geological transparency and reliable supply chains.

2. Major miners may remain cautious until projects reach feasibility and governance risk reduces further; many will prefer partnerships or earn-ins with strong offtake and processing guarantees. Reuters and global miners’ outreach in 2024–25 shows appetite but caution.

3. Geopolitical factors: competition among global buyers (U.S., EU, China) for critical minerals gives Nigeria leverage but only if it can credibly present processing capacity and governance. Strategic partnerships (e.g., Nigeria-South Africa pact) can strengthen credibility.

Immediate actions to maximise MI26 outcomes

1. Bring a verified “Top 5” project book. Each project, resource statement, ESIA status, permit checklist, investment needed, and clearly defined offtake/processing pathway.

2. Publish a compact reform scoreboard. Include measurable indicators, number of titles revoked/re-issued, cadastre uptime and eMC+ metrics, and timelines for outstanding regulatory changes.

3. Announce one or two credible PPP processing anchors. Even if financing is staged, announce lead partners, LOIs or conditional commitments that show industrial intent (with implementation milestones).

4. Offer concrete de-risking tools. Present a “toolkit” of blended finance facilities, export credit insurance options, and a timeline for tax/fiscal stability agreements for anchors.

5. Deploy an MI26 outreach team with clear roles. Ensure ministers, technical leads, NMCO, and a deal-flow manager/front office are present to convert meetings into term sheets and MOUs.

6. Invite credible third-party validators. Bring an independent auditor or respected international bank to validate the reform claims, this builds investor trust immediately.

Performance metrics to track post-Indaba (how Nigeria can measure success)

1. Number of MOUs converted to term sheets (target: 30–50% conversion within 6 months).

2. Capital committed to feasibility/FS stage (USD value).

3. New processing capacity agreements (tonnage/year and expected commissioning
date).

4. Time-to-title reallocation (days) and percentage of cadastre transactions completed digitally.
5. ESG/compliance baselines established (number of community consent agreements signed).

Realistic optimism, not marketing

Nigeria’s recent actions show clear intent to sanitise the sector, prioritise downstream processing, and make bold announcements to attract capital. These are necessary first steps but MI26 will separate rhetoric from readiness. To convert attention into investment,

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Nigeria must present verifiable, bankable projects; transparent governance metrics; and concrete de-risking instruments that bridge the gap between exploration interest and financing/implementation. If Nigeria can bring that to MI26, a credible project book, third-party validation, and at least one anchor processing commitment; it will have a strong chance of turning a high-profile presence into measurable industrial progress.

Victor LIMAN is the former Chief Trade Negotiator and Acting Director General of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations. Mr LIMAN is also the former Head and Commissioner, Nigeria Regional Investment and Trade Office, China; with the concurrent mandate to oversee Nigeria’s trade and investment relations with South Eastern Asian Countries. [email protected] (+234 7011276040).