Expert Speaks on Why US $110/kg Price Floor Could Unlock Private Capital for Nigeria's Minerals
- Bala Wunti, CEO of World Energy Council Nigeria, spoke at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York about Nigeria's critical minerals investment gap
- Wunti said Nigeria has 44 commercially viable minerals but lacks the investable project structures needed to attract serious private capital
- The expert outlined six conditions required to mobilise capital for mineral development, pointing to a US policy as a potential model
PAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng!
Bala Wunti, chief executive offier of World Energy Council Nigeria, has said that a United States price floor of $110 per kilogram for certain rare earth products could offer the kind of commercial certainty that Nigeria needs to finally draw private investment into its critical minerals sector.
Wunti made the argument at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York, speaking on a panel titled "Rare Currency: Critical Minerals in a Shifting Global Economy."
Source: Original
The summit ran alongside the United Nations General Assembly at the Sheraton New York Times Square and brought together government, business, and civil society leaders to discuss pressing global challenges.
Nigeria's minerals gap
Nigeria has identified 44 commercially viable minerals, yet the sector has not generated meaningful economic returns or attracted investment comparable to oil and gas.
Wunti, a former chief upstream investment officer at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited with over three decades of large-scale energy project experience, said the central problem is the gap between mineral presence and investable projects.
"Having minerals in the ground is only the beginning. We had geological indications, but not reserves supported by JORC compliant data. This meant that we knew minerals were present, but investors did not have sufficient information to finance their development," he said.
He added that Nigeria has produced mining policies without concrete projects capable of drawing investors, noting that "United States investors invest in projects, not potential."
Wunti identified six conditions necessary to mobilise capital: reliable geological data, clearly defined projects, enabling infrastructure, predictable regulation, credible developers, and viable routes to market.
From potential to bankability
He pointed to the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Company as a step towards converting mineral potential into commercially structured opportunities, describing it as the country's flagship investment platform and a credible counterparty for both local and international investors.
"We must move from potential to bankability. Investors need an actual transaction, not merely a presentation," he said.
On the US price floor, Wunti explained that a guaranteed minimum purchase price of $110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium products reduces investors' exposure to sharp price drops and market manipulation, making it easier for lenders to finance mining and processing projects they would otherwise consider too risky.
"The lesson is price, not pitch. The $110 per kilogram floor helps close the gap between government policy and commercial reality. Give me a credible price, and I will give you private capital," he said.
He also stressed that government support has limits, saying that while policy can make a project bankable, it cannot permanently sustain one that is economically unviable.
Wunti closed by urging Africa to push beyond extraction towards local processing, manufacturing, and job creation.
"We must move from barrels to kilograms and from extraction to processing," he said. "That is how Africa wins."
Source: Legit.ng
