Nigeria urged to stimulate mining sector investment

Industry experts have called on the Nigerian government to create an enabling environment to attract investment into the country’s mining sector.

They stressed that enhancing regulatory frameworks, infrastructure development and security are critical steps towards unlocking the sector’s potential.

They said this at the virtual launch of the Global Mine 2024 report where they emphasized that technology must be harnessed to maintain and lift productivity throughout the mine life cycle.

PwC’s Africa Energy, Utilities and Resources Leader, Andries Rossouw, said with Nigeria’s natural resource potential, creating an enabling environment for mining is very important.

“We see the same in Saudi Arabia, where there is still lots of value in oil for the future. But diversifying into other commodities using the base skills in the country is quite key.

“Lithium processing as an alternative in the country would be good. It is an energy-intensive process. Therefore, if you do have the gas and oil resources to benefit, why not use them in manufacturing? A country like Nigeria has got lots of potential around that. The idea, though, is to build better, so that we do not make the same mistakes building inefficient old technology plants,” he said.

The Associate Director of Tax Services at PwC Ghana, Gifty Appiah, said Africa needs to create an environment for investors to have that certainty as the industry is risky and capital intensive.

She stressed that Nigeria needs to be more deliberate to avoid missteps in the oil and gas industry.

“For Nigeria, taxes have to be looked at as well, because even for oil and gas, sometimes you think that the rates are too high. It’s really to look at it and have specific, impactful strategies and policies to consciously attract that kind of investment, and be as big and buoyant an economy as you have in oil and gas,” she said.