Nigeria’s Critical Minerals Moment: A Legal and Investment Framework for the Global Race Below the Surface

Abstract 

The global energy transition has repositioned Nigeria’s solid minerals sector from a policy aspiration into a strategic imperative. Sitting atop confirmed reserves of lithium, copper, niobium, tantalum, manganese, and rare earth elements across 44 other mineral types, Nigeria holds an estimated USD 700 billion in unexplored mineral wealth. A confluence of legislative reform, institutional modernisation, and surging global demand for energy transition minerals now presents a compelling, if time-limited, window for international investors. This article examines the legal architecture governing entry, the trajectory of ongoing reforms, the key structural risks associated with the mining sector in Nigeria.