Oladele Henry Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development and the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group has joined the upcoming African Mining Week (AMW) – Africa’s premier gathering for mining stakeholders – as a speaker.
Alake will speak on the Ministerial Forum panel titled From Extraction to Transformation: African Governments Driving Beneficiation and Value Creation, where he is expected to showcase reforms, policies and opportunities emerging as Nigeria advances investment, beneficiation and sustainable mining practices.
African Mining Week serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa. The event is held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025 conference from October 1-3 in Cape Town. Sponsors, exhibitors and delegates can learn more by contacting sales@energycapitalpower.com.
Minister Alake’s participation reflects Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening the link between mining and energy as a driver of sustainable economic growth and industrialization. His participation is timely with Nigeria deploying an ambitious strategy aimed at revamping policies, building infrastructure, strengthening global partnerships and building a competitive local workforce to advance industry’s contribution to GDP to 10%.
In April 2025, Nigeria signed an agreement with South Africa to collaborate on geological mapping using drone technology, share mineral data and jointly explore critical minerals. Nigeria is also prioritizing the digital transformation of the industry for transparency and efficiency. The country allocated ₦2.5 billion in March 2025 for satellite surveillance to monitor mine sites in real time, track extraction volumes, transport and security. Nigeria’s use of its new Mineral Resources Decision Support System aims to provide global investors with streamlined access to geological and policy data. Nigeria also issued 867 new mining licenses and generated ₦6.95 billion in revenue during Q1 2025 alone as part of efforts to enhance cooperation with global players to unlock mining sector expansion.
Against this backdrop, AMW offers an ideal platform for Minister Alake to engage with global investors and showcase Nigeria’s diverse mineral portfolio – spanning 44 commercially viable resources including bitumen, limestone, coal, iron ore, and gold.
Africa Fact: The Songhai Empire of 16th century West Africa had a government position called Minister for Etiquette and Protocol. Africa Fact: The mediaeval Nigerian city of Benin was built to “a scale comparable with the Great Wall of China”. There was a vast system of defensive walling totalling 10,000 miles in all. Even before the full extent of the city walling had become apparent the Guinness Book of Records carried an entry in the 1974 edition that described the city as: “The largest earthworks in the world carried out prior to the mechanical era.”
mercury reborn
Interview with a pirate:
There was a pirate who had agreed to do an interview with a local tv station. The reporter was very courteous and professional, giving a bit of background as to the pirate\’s business. She then began interviewing him.
\”So Mr. Longbeard, are there any risks to your business? I see you have a peg leg- how did that come about?\”
\”Well, y\’see I were sailing along the coast of South Africa, looking to plunder some locals when as I boarded the small boat from the ship, a great white shark came up and got my leg clean off. \’twas scary yes, but thus is the life of a pirate.\”
\”Wow, that is pretty scary- well, how about your hook? What happened to your hand with that?\”
\”Oh now that\’s quite the tale, y\’see I were fighting a rival pirate, and we had locked swords. We had been fighting for a few hours, and were both terribly fatigued. I had a bit of exhaustion and confusion, and when I went to block one of his sword blows, I met him with me hand instead of me sword. Took it right off, but it shocked him so much I managed to get him back pretty good and have him submit. So the hook hand was given as a replacement.\”
\”Wow. Simply fascinating. Now, what about your eye patch? How did that happen?\”
\”Well, one day, a seagull was flying overhead, and I looked up. It pooped right in me eye.\”
\”… Well wow. I must admit, I wouldn\’t think just seagull poop could damage the eye that badly.\”
\”Oh, I forgot to mention… it were me first day with the hook.\”
heavenly connection
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese