The federal Government says it will only grant new mining licences to companies that present a plan on how minerals would be processed locally, under new guidelines being developed.

According to Segun Tomori, the spokesperson for the minister of solid minerals development, Dele Alake, to spur investment, the government will offer investors incentives including tax waivers for importing mining equipment, make it easier to secure electricity generation licences, allow full repatriation of profits and boost security. However, Tomori did not say when the guidelines would be finalised or come into effect.

This signals a shift from Nigeria’s decades-old policy of exporting raw materials as African governments take steps to extract more value from their solid mineral deposits.