Indigenous mining company, Romulus Mining, has unveiled plans to increase its investments in Nigeria’s mining sector from approximately $50 million to $150 million over the next three years.

Organisers said the sponsorship, branded AFNIS 2026 Powered by Romulus Mining, reflects the emergence of indigenous mining companies as strategic drivers of Africa’s economic transformation and resource development agenda.

The investment projection was highlighted as the company was announced as the Title Sponsor of the fifth anniversary edition of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026), scheduled to hold from June 23 to 25, 2026, at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

The title sponsorship is also seen as an endorsement of ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s mining sector championed by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, who serves as Chief Host of AFNIS.

Held under the theme, “One Africa. One Resource Vision,” the summit aims to deepen collaboration among governments, investors, industry leaders and development partners to advance resource sovereignty, local value addition and cross-border economic integration.

The addition of Romulus Mining to the 5th edition of AFNIS signals a deep alignment between the platform’s continental resource sovereignty agenda and the company’s expanding ambitions across Nigeria’s critical minerals and industrial value chains.

Romulus Mining currently operates across several mineral-rich states in Nigeria, including Osun, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kwara, Plateau, Kebbi, Cross River, Ondo, Ebonyi and Kogi, with interests spanning gold, silver, lithium, graphite, tin, columbite, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese and beryl.

The company’s Ifewara gold project in Osun State, located along the highly prospective Ifewara-Zungeru shear zone, has already recorded visible gold occurrences from artisanal workings, with ongoing drilling and geophysical assessments underway.

According to the company, “Simultaneously, its Ijero lithium project in Ekiti State aligns with rising international demand for spodumene and battery-related minerals, placing the company within an increasingly strategic segment of the global mining economy.

“The scale of Romulus’ ambitions in the sector is very clear with plans to expand Nigerian mining investments from approximately $50 million to $150 million over the next three years.

“One of the more significant undercurrents behind the Romulus Mining sponsorship is the growing visibility of African-owned mining capital within the continent’s strategic minerals ecosystem. Historically, large-scale mining investment conversations in Africa have been dominated by multinational corporations.

“However, a new generation of African operators is beginning to emerge with broader ambitions; integrating mining with infrastructure, logistics, energy, and industrial development.”

As part of the wider Romulus Group, the company sits within a diversified conglomerate spanning energy, telecoms, media, financial services, and industrial sectors. This diversification matters.

The future competitiveness of Africa’s mining sector will likely depend not only on extraction capacity, but on the ability to connect mineral development with infrastructure systems, local processing, energy access, and regional trade corridors.

Stakeholders noted that recent government efforts to formalise mining activities, attract responsible investment and strengthen value-addition policies are gradually improving investor sentiment in the sector.

Developed and managed by Core International with the support of the Federal Government, AFNIS has become one of Africa’s leading platforms for dialogue on natural resources, energy investment and sustainable development.

Organisers said the participation of Romulus Mining as title sponsor for the summit’s landmark fifth edition demonstrates increasing confidence in Africa’s critical minerals opportunity and the growing role of indigenous capital in shaping the continent’s mining future.