Victor Ezeja
AdminFour weeks after Prime Business Africa reported Lithium as President Bola Tinubu’s line of sight to the foreign exchange needed to refloat Nigeria’s economy, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake has announced the inclusion of Lithium as Nigeria’s crucial strategic mineral resource of global consequence.
He stated this on Tuesday during the Mines and Money Conference in London, assured foreign investors of low production costs in Nigeria’s mining sector.
Alake said that Tinubu has embarked on reforms to boost investment by streamlining procedures and reducing hurdles to attract foreign investors.
“The country’s geological bounty encompasses over 44 distinct mineral types, found in exploitable quantities across more than 500 locations,” the minister said, according to a statement by his aide Kehinde Bamigbetan.
“Recently, recognizing the evolving global landscape and in response to emerging trends, Lithium has been included as a crucial strategic mineral of global consequence.
“Nigeria is currently emphasizing solid minerals beneficiation and value-addition as a panacea for quick and sustainable growth of the mining industry.
“By adding value to our raw materials, we not only create higher value products but also generate employment opportunities for our teeming youth and increase the sector’s overall profitability and contribution to the nation’s GDP.”
He quoted a recent report by an audit firm, KPMG, the minister said mining’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP rose from 0.3 per cent to 0.85 per cent in 2022, indicating 0.63 per cent year-on-year growth.
The Director-general of Nigeria’s Geological Survey Agency, Abdulrazaq Garba, had disclosed that the Lithium found in Nigeria is of the best grade, with as much as 13 per cent lithium oxide in some cases whereas concentrations of 0.4 per cent are already considered exploitable. The mineral, which is the key component in the manufacturing of batteries, is projected to be more valuable than gold, diamonds, silver and oil by 2040.
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