Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, yesterday, began discussions on the extraction and processing of iron ore into steel, signalling potential partnership that could benefit both nations.

During the resourcing event at the yearly Mines and Money expo in Islington, London, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, met with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy, Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer, and discussed plans to extract iron ore and process steel in Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia currently boasts of a solid steel industry that relies on importing iron ore from various African countries. Alake, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Kehinde Bamigbetan, opted for the extraction and beneficiation of iron ore to steel in Nigeria, adding that the value-added exports would attract better prices than raw ores.

Responding, Al-Mudaifer confirmed Saudi Arabia’s interest in sourcing iron ore for its steel industry and assured the minister that the government would consider Nigeria’s proposal for the domestication of the downstream value chain in the country.

A follow-up meeting is scheduled for Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, during the Future Metals Forum in January, 2025.