The Ore Reserves Development Forum (ORDF) and the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) are set to take a major step toward reshaping Nigeria’s mining industry as they prepare to host a one-day workshop on December 9, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
The event, with the theme “Building a Sustainable Mining Finance Framework for Nigeria,” is designed to tackle what experts describe as one of the sector’s biggest and most persistent challenges: the difficulty miners face in securing reliable financing.
A statement from the SMDF, signed by Mr. Abdulmajeed Amussah, Technical Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the SMDF, expressed the concern that many miners continue to struggle because investors lack confidence in existing geological data and project transparency.
The Fund SMDF and ORDF therefore expressed concern that, as a result, even promising mineral projects often fail to access the capital needed to progress beyond early stages.
The statement said the upcoming workshop aims to address the challenge by bringing together miners, financial institutions, policymakers, regulators, and technical experts to strengthen the link between geological reporting and financial credibility.
Ahead of the event, ORDF Chairman, Uba Saidu Malami, emphasized how critical improved transparency is to unlocking the sector’s potential.
He noted that the mining industry could make significant contributions to Nigeria’s economic growth, but that inadequate or unreliable data continues to discourage investors.
Malami expressed optimism that the workshop would enable key players to collaborate on building a more transparent, trustworthy system capable of supporting long-term investment and sector development.
Throughout the sessions, participants will explore essential issues such as mineral reporting standards, financing pathways from exploration through production, regulatory and policy incentives, and strategies for designing an efficient mining finance ecosystem suited to Nigeria’s unique landscape.
At the end of the workshop, stakeholders are expected to produce a draft Mining Finance Framework, which will later be refined by a technical working group representing institutions across the mining value chain.
This initiative builds on momentum from the Geological Society of Nigeria’s Roundtable 2.0, where technical, regulatory, financial, and policy experts concluded that Nigeria must improve ore reserve classification, strengthen technical capacity, and create structured financing mechanisms—particularly through capital markets—to fully unlock its solid minerals endowment.
The consensus was that only a collaborative, multi-sector approach grounded in sound industrial policy and a sustainable investment framework can deliver lasting change.
A wide range of influential figures and institutions are expected to participate in the workshop, including the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake; the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Executive Secretary of the SMDF; the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; the Managing Director of NEXIM Bank; and the President of the Miners Association of Nigeria.
Other attendees include Minister of Finance Wale Edun, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the New Nigeria Development Company, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, the Gems and Precious Metals Confederation, NSIA Managing Director Aminu Umar Sadiq, the Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, the Director General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, representatives of the Iraq Embassy, NACCIMA, COMEG, NSEG, NIMMME, and several other industry bodies.
Organisers are hopeful that the workshop could mark a turning point for Nigeria’s mining sector—one that finally lays the groundwork for a credible and sustainable financing system capable of supporting the country’s mineral wealth for generations to come.
