" Nigeria’s push to cash in on lithium rush gets off to a rocky start" 8 July 2025

[...] Lithium is a key ingredient of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage that are critical for the clean energy transition, and surging global demand for the light and silvery metal has opened a new mining frontier in Nigeria’s central and northern states, where significant reserves have been found.

To benefit from the global lithium rush, the Nigerian government has embarked on a programme of reforms to formalise the sector – aiming to bring artisanal miners like Musa, who dig most of the country’s minerals out of the ground, into regulated cooperatives and add value to its lithium resources by processing them domestically.

The government also wants to attract foreign investors to the nascent sector as it seeks to diversify its economy away from oil. [...] In Nigeria, Climate Home found that one of the country’s first lithium processing plants has struggled to deliver on its early promises, highlighting the challenges the West African nation faces in reaping the benefits of the global transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources. [...]

The lithium processing plant inaugurated in the remote village of Kangimi in Kaduna State in May 2024 is a joint venture between the state government and Chinese company Ming Xin Mineral Separation Nigeria Ltd. In a speech marking the plant’s opening, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani said the local government would hold a 30% stake in the project through the state-owned Kaduna Mining Development Company (KMDC).

KMDC, which oversees mining activities in the state, would handle “community engagement, all security issues as well as the provision of land” while Ming Xin would run the project, Sani said in a speech. But a year on from the processing plant’s trumpeted inauguration, it is still not fully operational. Local people said they have yet to see any of the promised benefits materialise, including jobs and improved health and education infrastructure, and are worried about possible pollution.

It is also unclear where the lithium being processed at the site comes from, raising concerns the plant could end up incentivising the informal mining the government wants to regulate. [...] In a video statement shared with Climate Home, KMDC’s managing director Shuaibu Bello said the plant would create 1,500 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs. But during a visit to the site in March, only 17 local youths were employed to work in roles such as security guards, one employee told Climate Home. [...] His special assistant Suleiman added that a committee is being set up to oversee the delivery of community benefits but did not spell out what the agreement with the Kangimi community entails.

The Chinese Embassy in Abuja told Climate Home it had contacted Ming Xin, which said it “holds valid mining licenses and community agreements, has consistently contributed to local communities, created employment opportunities, and always paid rapt attention to protect the local environment”.

[...]

Nigeria’s burgeoning lithium market has gained the attention of several other Chinese companies and investors. Jiuling Lithium Mining Company and Canmax Technologies are major investors in two new lithium processing plants in Nigeria, worth over $800 million together, which are due to open later this year.