The Nigerian Government has dismissed allegations that it is ceding the country’s mineral resources to China. The media aide to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kehinde Bamigbetan, who dismissed the allegation, said that the revocation of Basin Mining Limited’s licences was based on the company’s failure to meet its statutory obligations. “Kefas’ allegation that Alake is handing over our mineral wealth to the Chinese betrays his abysmal ignorance of the dynamics of Nigeria’s international economic relations,” Bamigbetan said. According to him, the reforms introduced under Alake require mining companies to process minerals locally before export, a policy he said has encouraged several Chinese firms to establish mineral processing factories in Nigeria. “Several Chinese companies began complying with this directive by building processing factories,” he said, contrasting their response with companies whose licences were revoked.