Keynote Speech by the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund at the University of Lagos details progress on the Minister of Solid Minerals Development’s Seven-Point Agenda, and the recently launched EMERGE research grants.

LAGOS, NIGERIA, 8 July 2026 – The Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) today outlined progress on the Federal Government’s roadmap to triple Nigeria’s solid minerals sector to 3 percent of GDP by 2030 – a target set by the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Henry Dele Alake, under his Seven-Point Agenda – in a keynote address delivered at the University of Lagos’ maiden Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences Annual Lecture Series.

Hajiya Fatima Umaru Shinkafi, Executive Secretary and CEO of the SMDF, delivered the keynote, “Building Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Future: The Power of Academia, Government and Industry in Partnership,” at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Main Auditorium.

She was welcomed by chief host, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos and the first woman to lead the institution in its six-decade history, and introduced by the host, Professor Olayinka Taiwo Asekun, pioneer Dean of the newly created Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences. All three – the keynote speaker, the Chief Host and the Host – are women; with Asekun and Shinkafi being trained chemists.

Hajiya Shinkafi emphasized the scale of Nigeria’s mining opportunity, and its historical underperformance, despite the presence of more than 44 minerals in commercial quantities across over 500 locations, spanning gold, iron ore, lithium, coal, bitumen, barite and gemstones.

She said:

“Solid minerals contribute less than one percent of Nigeria’s GDP. The trade statistics tell the same story: in 2025, solid mineral exports of about ₦354 billion amounted to roughly 0.4 percent of our total exports, and about 3 percent of our non-oil exports, against the nearly five percent of exports the sector commanded at independence.”

This, she said, necessitated the launch of the Seven-Point Agenda by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Henry Dele Alake, in September 2023, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The ministerial agenda covers: establishing the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation; attracting private capital; building geoscience data through the Nigeria Minerals Decision Support System; formalising artisanal miners; securing mine sites through the Mining Marshals, who have apprehended over 300 illegal miners and recovered close to 100 illicit sites; restoring order by revoking more than 2,500 dormant mining titles; and driving local value addition.

Outlining the concrete outcomes of the reforms, she said:

“The clearest proof sits in federation revenues. In 2023, this sector earned the Federation about ₦16 billion. In 2024, the figure rose to ₦38 billion. In 2025, it crossed ₦70 billion. That is growth of more than 337 percent in two years, from the same minerals and the same ground, governed differently. The national accounts tell the same story, in real terms, with the price effect stripped out. The sector grew 33.5 percent in real terms in 2025, roughly nine times the overall economy’s 3.9 percent real growth.”

Since 2023, reforms have attracted about US$2.6 billion in fresh investment commitments, including a US$1.3 billion, 1.5-million-tonne alumina refinery, the largest mining investment in Nigerian history. The federal government’s target is a 25-fold expansion of the sector, to roughly ₦30 trillion (about US$21 billion) by 2030.

The centrepiece of the address was EMERGE, the Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment, which the SMDF launched in June 2026. Described by Shinkafi as the first dedicated, competitive funding vehicle for geoscience research in Nigerian universities, EMERGE runs three streams: Exploration, Critical Minerals, and Research and Development.

The Exploration and Critical Minerals streams cover up to 70 percent of eligible costs; the Research and Development stream, open directly to Master’s and PhD researchers as well as university departments and research institutions, covers 100 percent of eligible costs, including fieldwork, laboratory testing and publication fees. Every awardee also joins the EMERGE Accelerator, which provides technical training, investment readiness support and access to follow-on capital.

“EMERGE is the first time in Nigeria’s history that a national institution has created dedicated, competitive funding for geoscience research in our universities,” Shinkafi said, urging the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences to designate a coordinator and submit proposals to every application window.

Reflecting on the day’s all-women leadership, Shinkafi drew a parallel to Marie Curie and encouraged young women in the audience to pursue careers in the sector.

“The minerals under our feet do not care who unlocks them,” she said.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos and Chief Host of the lecture, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, said:

“The University of Lagos is proud to convene the maiden edition of this lecture series and to place our Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences at the service of a national priority. A partnership between a research university and a sovereign fund is how knowledge becomes national wealth. We thank the Executive Secretary for an address that honoured this institution and challenged our researchers to lead.”

The pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences and Host, Professor Olayinka Taiwo Asekun, said:

“This lecture series was created to face our Faculty toward the nation’s industries and to demand engagement, and this maiden edition is the proof. The Executive Secretary has offered our staff and students a funded pathway from a Master’s thesis to a working mine. We accept the charge, and will ensure that no application window closes without a University of Lagos submission in it.”

About SMDF

The Solid Minerals Development Fund is a sovereign fund established by the Government of Nigeria to catalyse private sector-led investment in the mining sector, unlocking financing that grows the sector and lifts its contribution to jobs and GDP while ensuring sustainable returns. It delivers its mandate through three core funds spanning the mining lifecycle: a Growth Fund for early-stage exploration and development, an Opportunities Fund for late-stage projects and enabling infrastructure, and a Responsible Mining Fund for responsible sourcing, artisanal formalisation and environmental conservation. Its flagship initiatives include the National Gold Purchase Programme with the Central Bank of Nigeria and, with the Africa Finance Corporation, the AFC-SMDF Project Development Facility and a 1.5 million tonnes per annum alumina refinery.