Nigeria’s Vice President Inaugurates $2m NSUK Mine-Tech UniPod, Targets Mineral Value Chain Revolution

Nigeria has taken a major step toward repositioning its solid minerals sector as Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by the Minister of Education, Maruf Olatunji Alausa, commissioned the $2 million NSUK Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University, Keffi on Friday, May 8, 2026.

The commissioning ceremony, held at the university’s Multipurpose Hall, attracted government officials, academics, traditional rulers, members of the diplomatic corps, and stakeholders across Nigeria’s innovation and mining ecosystem.

The Mine-Tech UniPod is a specialised innovation hub developed under a partnership involving the United Nations Development Programme, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Nasarawa State Government, and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, as part of the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme.

The facility is one of seven UniPods being established across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, designed to reposition universities as drivers of industrialisation, innovation, and enterprise development.

Unlike conventional academic infrastructure, the NSUK Mine-Tech UniPod integrates the full mining value chain—from exploration and extraction to processing and value addition—within a single innovation ecosystem.

Equipped with advanced tools and laboratories valued at over $2 million, the hub features mineral intelligence systems, materials processing units, geo-spatial innovation labs, and green mining technology facilities.

It also includes prototyping workshops, a technology transfer office, and modern equipment such as CNC routers, 3D printers, soil analysers, vacuum formers, and packaging machines.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Education, Dr. Alausa, noted that Nigeria possesses over 44 commercially viable solid minerals estimated at more than $1 trillion in value, yet the sector remains underdeveloped due to decades of raw material exportation without sufficient local value addition.

He stressed that rising global demand for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, coltan, tantalite, and rare earth elements presents Nigeria with a strategic opportunity to integrate into global industrial supply chains.

He further highlighted Nasarawa State’s rich mineral deposits, including lithium, gemstones, and lead-zinc, describing it as a strategic hub for mining-driven industrial transformation.

According to him, the UniPod is more than a physical structure, but a national innovation engine designed for research, commercialisation, industrialisation, and youth empowerment.

The Executive Governor of Nasarawa State and Visitor to the university, Abdullahi A. Sule, commended development partners for the initiative and reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to supporting the facility, including plans to provide a solar power system for sustainable operations.

He urged students and artisanal miners to maximise the opportunities provided by the hub for skills development, innovation, and responsible resource utilisation.

In her remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Sa’adatu Hassan Liman, described the Mine-Tech UniPod as a turning point in the institution’s drive toward academic excellence and applied research.

She stated that the facility positions NSUK as an emerging centre for mining innovation and urged students, particularly in Geosciences, to translate theoretical knowledge into practical industrial solutions.

The UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie G. Attafuah, said the UniPod would strengthen collaboration between academia, government, and industry while promoting global best practices in sustainable mining and energy transition.

She added that the initiative aims to transform Nigeria’s mining sector into a knowledge-driven and innovation-led industry.

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sonny S.T. Echono, described the project as a critical milestone in Nigeria’s education and innovation agenda.

He outlined national targets for the programme, including positioning Nigeria as Africa’s hub for green mining technology, creating over 5,000 green jobs by 2028, developing digital mineral traceability systems, and expanding the innovation ecosystem to at least 20 public universities.

The event concluded with the formal unveiling of the Mine-Tech UniPod, followed by a guided tour of the facility by dignitaries and stakeholders, marking what officials described as a new phase in Nigeria’s mineral-based economic transformation.