By Johnson Emmanuel
The federal government is moving to position Taraba State’s mineral resources as investable assets, with the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, using a state investment roundtable in Jalingo to court private capital and push mining higher on Nigeria’s diversification agenda.
DEVELOPMENT:
Alake urged investors to explore Taraba’s metallic, non-metallic and precious mineral resources, assuring them of federal support. But he made clear that mineral deposits alone will not unlock investment. The state needs credible geological data, infrastructure, security, value addition and tangible benefits for host communities.
The Minister said the federal government was ready to help convert Taraba’s mineral wealth into viable projects capable of creating jobs, industries and sustainable revenue. He also urged the state to develop a pipeline of well-researched mineral projects that can be matched with investors possessing the required technical and financial capacity.
Alake identified security as critical and disclosed that, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval, the federal government had established a specialised security arrangement to tackle illegal mining and protect mining operations in Taraba and other mineral-rich states.
Governor Agbu Kefas said that his administration would ensure the roundtable produces concrete investments rather than becoming another forum for promises. “Kefas stressed that the success of the roundtable would not be measured by the number of presentations, but by the investments, projects, jobs and industries that emerge from it.”
DATA:
The State Bureau for Solid Minerals identifies Taraba as endowed with abundant metallic, non-metallic and precious mineral resources. However, the story provides no quantified estimate of reserves, current production, investment commitments or the economic value of the deposits.
That absence is significant. Investors ultimately need geological certainty, project economics, infrastructure costs and security-risk assessments before committing capital.
SIGNIFICANCE:
Taraba is effectively competing for capital in a mining market where investors can choose jurisdictions offering clearer geological information, stronger infrastructure and lower operating risks. Alake’s emphasis on data, security and value addition therefore goes beyond promotion. It identifies the conditions required to turn mineral potential into bankable projects.
For Nigeria, the larger opportunity is to move from extracting minerals to building processing and manufacturing capacity around them, particularly as global demand rises for minerals supporting advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure and the energy transition.
NEXT MOVE:
The immediate test is whether Taraba converts its mineral inventory into investable project pipelines, secures credible investors and moves projects from exploration into production and local processing. The implementation of the specialised security arrangement will also be critical.
OUR LENS:
Nigeria does not have a mineral-resource problem. It has an investment-conversion problem. The value of Taraba’s mineral wealth will ultimately be determined not by the number of deposits identified, or the number of investors addressed at a roundtable, but by whether geological potential becomes financed projects, operating mines, processing plants, jobs, taxes and durable industrial capacity.
Johnson Emmanuel is a journalist, covering business, economic affairs and issues of significance to Nigeria’s corporate and public sectors.
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