The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has urged stakeholders in the solid minerals sector to stop exporting raw non-metallic minerals and instead focus on local processing, value addition and quality certification to improve Nigeria’s competitiveness in international markets and increase non-oil export revenue.
The appeal was made during a stakeholders’ workshop titled “Positioning Nigerian Non-Metallic Minerals for the Global Market” held in Enugu. The event brought together government officials, exporters and industry experts to discuss ways of unlocking the country’s solid minerals potential through beneficiation and industrial processing.
Speaking at the opening session on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Mrs. Tochi Ozulu encouraged participants to use the workshop to develop practical measures that would strengthen the minerals value chain and attract more investment into the sector.
In a keynote address, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, said Nigeria could no longer rely on exporting unprocessed minerals if it intends to maximise the economic value of its mineral resources.
Ayeni’s address, delivered by the Council’s South-East Regional Coordinator, Mr. Mustapha Umar Faruk, stressed that Nigeria would not achieve its export expansion goals by continuing the decades-old practice of shipping raw minerals abroad.
According to her, the country must invest in processing minerals such as kaolin, barite, limestone and gypsum into finished and semi-finished products that meet international market standards.
She noted that Nigeria possesses significant deposits of strategic non-metallic minerals, including limestone, gypsum, kaolin, bentonite, phosphate, graphite, marble, sulphur, fluorite and mica. Ayeni added that growing interest from international miners and investors indicates that the sector is emerging as a major source of non-oil export earnings.
The NEPC boss said the sector is a key component of the council’s #DoubleYourExport campaign, which seeks to expand Nigeria’s export earnings through greater investment in value addition, formalisation of mining activities, processing clusters and export readiness.
Ayeni also expressed concern over the rejection of some Nigerian mineral exports in foreign markets, blaming poor quality standards and failure to comply with international specifications. She warned that such rejections reduce foreign exchange earnings and damage the country’s reputation.
She called on stakeholders in Enugu State and the South-East to embrace the NEPC’s One State One Product (OSOP) initiative, describing it as a practical framework for identifying globally competitive mineral products, strengthening mining cooperatives and improving access to international markets.
Presenting the first technical paper, Mrs. Chika Okany of the NEPC said Nigeria has more than 44 mineral types, with seven priority non-metallic minerals offering strong export prospects because of increasing global demand from the construction, ceramics, glass, cosmetics, energy and jewellery industries.
Okany identified several challenges affecting the sector, including the continued export of raw minerals, inadequate processing facilities, weak quality assurance systems, poor documentation, high logistics costs, limited financing and insufficient market intelligence.
She recommended increased investment in beneficiation, geological mapping, export certification, financing and stronger collaboration among agencies involved in export promotion and industrial development.
According to her, under the OSOP initiative, Enugu State has chosen coal as its primary export product and limestone as its alternative mineral, while other states are selecting mineral products based on their comparative advantages.
In the second technical presentation, titled “Driving Export Growth through Value Addition in Nigeria’s Non-Metallic Minerals Sector,” Engr. Odel Benjamin of the Enugu State Ministry of Solid Minerals Development said Nigeria could substantially increase export earnings by processing minerals before export.
He explained that converting limestone into cement, kaolin into ceramics, silica sand into glass products and gypsum into building materials would create jobs, strengthen industrial capacity and raise the value of Nigeria’s mineral exports.
Benjamin also called for the establishment of beneficiation plants, improved infrastructure, increased private sector investment, technical skills development and stronger international partnerships to position Nigeria as a leading exporter of value-added mineral products.
Participants at the workshop agreed that expanding local processing capacity, enforcing international quality standards and encouraging public-private collaboration would boost foreign exchange earnings, accelerate industrialisation, create employment and support Nigeria’s economic diversification efforts.
