Nigeria and France have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on strengthening their critical minerals value chains.
The MoU was signed by Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development and Benjamin Gallezot, France’s Minister of Critical Ores and Metals, and paves the way for partnership on research, knowledge sharing, skills transfer and the training of French and Nigerian students.
Nigeria and France will work together to mitigate the environmental impacts of mining by targeting carbon emissions reduction, water conservation and climate change adaptation, according to the Nigerian Ministry.
The two countries will co-finance joint critical mineral extractive and processing projects in line with international best practices, under the terms of the MoU. Nigeria plans to use French expertise to relaunch over 2,000 abandoned mining pits and the MoU to attract French investors, according to Alake.
