Nigeria Digs Deep in a Bid to Revive Its Mining Sector

Nigeria forgot about its once lucrative mining industry. But through regulatory changes and foreign investment, it is now trying to regain its lost past.

When people talk of Nigeria's natural wealth, most immediately think of oil. After all, Nigeria's black gold accounts for up to 95% of the country's foreign exchange income and 80% of government revenue.

But, unbeknownst to many, oil is not the only precious resource lying under Nigerian soil. Though long neglected and forgotten, Africa's most populous country also contains a vast array of precious minerals, from its 2.7 billion metric tonnes of iron ore to its 3 billion tonnes of coal to its 2.2 trillion tonnes of barite, a mineral used for drilling.

In fact, Nigeria was a major producer of mined metals before oil was discovered in the 1950s and came to dominate the economy. But now it seems the government is trying to regain a lost past. This June, Nigeria's Minister for Mines and Steel Musa Mohammed Sada said in an interview with Reuters that Nigeria is aiming "to increase mining's contribution to the economy to 5% by 2015, from its current level of 0.5%" - a tenfold increase. And amidst a raft of new legislation and push towards privatisation, the mining sector can also expect to benefit from the financial and technical support of developmental partners such as the World Bank.