Nigeria holds an estimated three billion tonnes of iron ore reserves, enough to sustain the Ajaokuta Steel Complex for decades, yet this national wealth remains largely unexploited. Director-General Kolawole Ogunbiyi of the National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency confirmed these vast deposits in Kaduna, emphasizing that raw material supply would not impede steel production once the plant finally operates. This stark reality highlights a nation rich in resources but dependent on external forces to unlock its own industrial potential.
Ogunbiyi detailed extensive geological exploration confirming Nigeria's abundant iron ore, limestone, and coal deposits—the three essential raw materials for steel production. Iron ore alone accounts for approximately 95 percent of steel-making inputs. The estimated three billion tonnes of iron ore represent a major strategic asset, capable of driving national industrialization and reducing reliance on imported steel, a critical step toward true economic sovereignty.
National Resources, National Loss
The iron ore found in Itakpe, Kogi State, is of exceptional quality and quantity, having undergone rigorous laboratory testing for its viability in steel rolling. This deposit forms the backbone of Nigeria’s integrated steel development program, boasting high iron content and low impurity levels ideal for steel production. Despite these confirmed riches, mining activities remain significantly below potential. The Ajaokuta Steel Complex, intended as the primary off-taker for the ore, has yet to commence full commercial operations, leaving immense national resources dormant.
The original framework for the integrated steel project assigned the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe, the crucial responsibility of mining ore for the Ajaokuta Steel Company. This was meant to ensure local processing into finished steel products. Ogunbiyi lamented that the abundance of Itakpe iron ore cannot be fully utilized precisely because the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, which requires a significant portion of these raw materials, is not operational. This failure to activate domestic processing capacity directly impacts the native working class, denying them jobs and economic opportunity.
Federal government collaboration with Russian experts led to the discovery and detailed evaluation of the Itakpe deposits, alongside substantial limestone and coal reserves. While limestone deposits are currently licensed mainly for cement production due to Ajaokuta’s inactivity, sufficient quantities remain for future steel manufacturing. Large coal deposits also exist in Obi-Lafia, Nasarawa State, though further in-seam exploration is required to determine their commercial viability and suitability for steel production. The agency seeks government support to commence this exploration, a basic step towards national resource control.
The Globalist Path
The NSRMEA’s laboratory plays a critical role in testing mineral quality before detailed exploration establishes commercially viable reserves. Ogunbiyi appealed to the Federal Government for increased funding, citing the need for modern laboratory equipment, drones, and advanced exploration technologies to strengthen geological investigations. He argued that improved funding would generate reliable geological data, attracting greater foreign direct investment into Nigeria’s mining and steel sectors. This reliance on foreign capital, however, raises questions about who ultimately benefits from Nigeria's national wealth.
Ogunbiyi also called for stronger collaboration among government, investors, technology partners, and industry stakeholders to fast-track the steel industry's revival. Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, is actively working to attract “strategic investors” to accelerate steel production at Ajaokuta. While presented as a path to diversification, job creation, and reduced dependence on crude oil exports, this strategy risks ceding control of vital national industries to external interests.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policy aims to end the export of raw minerals without local value addition. His Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment initiative seeks to unlock over $750 billion worth of untapped mineral resources through expanded geological research, de-risked exploration, and increased local processing of strategic minerals. Yet, the emphasis on attracting foreign direct investment and building a “globally competitive steel industry” suggests an integration into a transnational economic order, rather than a purely sovereign, self-sufficient path. The question remains: will Nigeria's vast resources truly serve its own people, or become another asset managed by global capital?