The federal government says it has three billion tonnes of unused iron-ore to serve as raw material for the production of steel at the Ajaoukuta Steel Complex in Kogi State.

This reserve is described as a significant change over a reasonable number of years of steel raw materials exploration in Nigeria.

Speaking in Kaduna over the weekend, the director-general of National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency (NSRMEA), Kolawole Michael, said the iron- ore in Itakpe has no equal, both in quality and in quantity.

He said there are three primary raw materials needed for steel production, which are iron-ore, constituting about 95 percent, limestone and coal, making up the remaining five percent to roll out steel.

“When the federal government resolved to invest and develop the steel sector, and harness its potential, what was very significant was the source of raw materials, that was how NSRMEA was established to explore and determine the quality and quantity of raw materials available in Nigeria to roll the steel plants

He said a sustained aeromagnetic survey was conducted to identify where iron-ore and other raw materials for steel production were deposited to enable the government to determine where the steel plants would be located.

“In the designed plan for exploration and building of the steel plants, the federal government had effective collaboration with the Russian government, which came in and worked with geologists in this agency leading to identifying the iron-ore in Itakpe now called National Iron-Ore Mining Company NIOMCO,” he said.

Kolawole described the Itakpe iron-ore as the flagship of steel development in Nigeria not only in quantity but quality, and has less impurities, saying the steel sector value chain would not be complete without limestone and coal.

He disclosed that the limestone is currently being licensed to manufacturers, of cement and a larger quantity being utilized for production because the steel plant in Ajaoukuta hasn’t taken off in earnest.

The Director General expressed readiness in providing needed raw materials for steel production in Nigeria, declaring that the minister of steel development Shuaibu Abubakar Audu has been engaging major international partners to ensure that steel production commences in Nigeria.

He called for broader collaboration and partnership with experts and technology driven Foreign Direct Investment FDI, in the sector to create a global market space to develop the steel sector in Nigeria.

He described the expansion as “100 percent a success”, despite criticism from some quarters, including Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz, who argued earlier in the tournament that increasing the number of teams had weakened the value of qualification.

The idea of a further expansion first gained momentum after Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso proposed a 64-team World Cup during a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025.