Nigeria and the United States signed an agreement on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 24 to deepen American investment in Nigeria’s $700 billion mining sector, the West African country’s minerals minister, Dele Alake, has announced.

The pact is the latest move by the Trump administration to build an independent supply chain for critical minerals and rare-earth metals vital for the high-tech industry, clean energy systems, and defense applications.

For Nigeria, partnering with the United States is expected to help the country sell its minerals globally as it seeks to diversify the economy away from fossil fuels.

“Nigeria cannot remain a source of raw materials while others capture most of the value,” Alake said. “We want more local processing, quality jobs, stronger skills and greater opportunities for Nigerian businesses.”

The agreement, signed with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, covers geological data and exploration, mineral development and processing, infrastructure, and technical capacity.

The countries expect to turn the framework into projects, investments, and results in the coming months.

“We will identify viable projects and build partnerships that create value for Nigerians and our U.S. partners,” Alake said. “This is how we turn our mineral wealth into lasting economic growth and advance the diversification goals of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.”

In June, the Nigerian government announced the discovery of a “world class” province containing platinum metals, gold, nickel, copper, lithium, and rare-earth elements in Kaduna state, in the northwestern region of the country.

The area contained exceptionally high-grade deposits of strategic minerals in high demand globally for clean energy technology and advanced manufacturing, Alake said.

The discovery, made by a private company and verified by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, could boost the nation’s position in the global race for critical rare-earth minerals, according to the Nigerian government.

Nigeria also has significant deposits of tin, columbite-tantalite, bauxite, and manganese, and it has gold, iron ore, lead-zinc, and phosphate across the country.

“Nigeria is increasingly positioning itself within the emerging global critical minerals sector,” the Africa Policy Research Institute stated in a report about the country’s strategy.

However, the country faces significant structural challenges in diversifying its economy away from oil and strengthening its mineral industries to prepare for a future when fossil fuel revenues are less secure, the institute reported.

Nigeria also reestablished a strategic partnership with China in 2024 and signed agreements on trade, economy, technological cooperation, and investments.