No beneficiation, no licence, Nigeria tells mining firms

ABUJA. – Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dele Alake, has said international mining companies seeking licences to operate in Nigeria will be required to invest in domestic processing to get licenced.

 Alake announced this during the Nigeria Mining Week event going on in Abuja.

He noted that mining companies need to present business plans for “value addition” before granting them licences and that the policy is geared towards job creation.

He said; “I am glad to mention that such an initiative is already on stream as some companies have already commenced operations in Nigeria.”

The minister cited Ganfeng Lithium Industry Ltd, a Chinese company currently constructing a US$250 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State, as a prime example of the kind of investment the government seeks.

The facility is expected to process approximately 18,000 tons of lithium ore daily to produce batteries designed for electric vehicles, as stated by the minister.

Alake said the mining industry “is being modernised, and the government is investing in data collection, spending more than N15 billion over seven years to generate mineral data through a National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP).”

He said, “The preliminary reports from this project have unravelled massive discoveries that have literally put Nigeria on the world map of lithium-rich countries.”

Nigeria aims to attract investors to bolster its historically underdeveloped mining sector, which has contributed less than 1% to the nation’s economy.

Despite being Africa’s leading oil producer, with abundant reserves of gold, limestone, and zinc, the country seeks to expand the role of its mining industry in diversifying the economy away from its heavy reliance on oil.

In September, Mr. Alake announced plans for the administration to start a government-owned minimum company to facilitate investment in the solid mineral industry.

Beyond that, the Senate passed a bill in July to create a solid mineral development commission to optimise the nation’s solid mineral deposits and end illegal artisanal mining.