Nigeria/United States: Towards a new mining partnership

Nigeria and the United States have agreed to "deepen American investments" in the mining sector of Africa's most populous country, the Nigerian Ministry of Mineral Resources announced on Thursday.

Favoring transactional diplomacy, US President Donald Trump has significantly reduced foreign aid to instead prioritize investment agreements, particularly in Africa, where Chinese companies are already well established.

Relations between Washington and Abuja have been turbulent over the past year, with Donald Trump describing the endemic violence in the country as "genocide" against Christians.

These accusations, rejected by independent analysts, triggered a diplomatic crisis, which nevertheless resulted in strengthened military cooperation and the deployment of American troops in the country plagued by jihadist groups and armed gangs.

Dele Alake, Nigeria's Minister of Mineral Resources, and Christopher Landau, US Assistant Secretary of State, signed on Wednesday in New York (United States), on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, "a framework agreement for US investments in Nigeria's mineral resources, estimated at $700 billion", the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

According to experts, the mining sectors of many African countries remain heavily geared towards raw material exports, which poses challenges to economic development.

"We want more local transformation, quality jobs, enhanced skills and better opportunities for Nigerian businesses," the minister said.

Nigeria is home to lithium deposits – an essential component of batteries – currently exploited only by Chinese companies.

Washington is striving to consolidate its supply chain of critical minerals in the face of China, especially since the latter introduced restrictions last year on its exports of rare earths, of which it is a major producer.

Nigeria also has reserves of gold, tin, precious stones, iron ore and phosphate.

"This agreement should build on the relationship between the Nigerian and American governments to facilitate business-to-business transactions," the ministry said in its statement.

On Wednesday, the United Nations announced it had selected six countries in Africa and Asia, including Nigeria, to receive support aimed at helping them extract more value from their critical mineral deposits.