President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday inaugurated the West Africa’s biggest lithium processing company in Nasarawa State.
The 6,000 metric tons per day lithium processing plant was built by Diamond New Energy, a Chinese firm, worth $250 million, in partnership with the Nasarawa State Government.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the President described the occasion as a reflection of confidence in Nigeria, in the state and the revolutionary reforms initiated by his administration.
He said: ‘It represents confidence that Nigeria is ready to participate in the global minerals economy that creates jobs, build skills, strengthen local enterprise, and expand our productive base.
‘I join you today on behalf of my principal, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and with his good will message for you, we gather to affirm a direction, to make a statement about the kind of economy Nigeria must become, the future we must build, and the kind of partnership we must encourage if our natural endowments are to translate into shared prosperity for our people.
‘History teaches us that nation’s do not become great because nature has been generous to them; as rightly attested to by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake, some of the richest countries in the world do not have natural endowments.’
The vice president said countries like Japan, Singapore, South Korea and even China, as big as it is, is not as naturally endowed as some other countries.
He said: ‘Across the world, countries blessed with minerals, oil, gas, fertile lands, and strategic locations remain trapped in poverty because they failed to convert these resources into productive capacity.
‘While nation’s with far fewer advantages have risen to global prominence through discipline, enterprise, technology, skills, and industrial organization, natural resources may be a blessing, but only vision can turn them into wealth.
‘Only institution can protect that wealth, only industry can multiply it, and only people can make meaning of it,’ the President said.
He hailed Governor Abdullahi Sule for using his private sector experience to develop the state economy.
Representative of the lithium company – Diamond New Energy, Mr. Yu Chongqiang, said every generation is presented with opportunities capable of changing the course of history
‘For Nigeria, the emergence of critical minerals as the foundation represents one such opportunity, Diamond New Energy was founded on a simple, yet ambitious belief. Nigeria should not merely participate in the global mineral market, it should lead it through responsible development, value addition, and industrial innovation.
‘Since commencing operations, our focus has extended well beyond mining; we have invested in advance processing technologies, modern infrastructure, workforce development, environmental stewardship and meaningful partnership with government and host communities.’
Governor Sule thanked the President for accepting to be the special guest of honour at the opening the company and for sending his deputy to represent him.
300 illegal miners held, 20 convicted
The Solid Minerals Development Minister said that the Federal Government has apprehended over 300 illegal miners and secured convictions against more than 20 collaborators.
Alake explained that yesterday’s inauguration validated his ministry’s seven-point reform agenda, particularly its local value addition policy, which bars the export of raw minerals and mandates processing within Nigeria before export.
According to him, the mining marshals created by the Federal Government, had apprehended over 300 illegal miners and secured convictions against more than 20 collaborators.
He added that more than 250 artisanal mining cooperatives had been formalised nationwide to curb illegal mining and expand access to formal financing.
Alake, who said the ministry no longer issues mining titles or licenses without a concrete local processing plan, adding that the Diamond New Energy plant was proof that Nigeria’s solid minerals reforms were yielding results within a short period, having flagged off the project’s ground breaking about a year earlier.
The event forms part of continuing efforts by the federal and state government to reposition the solid minerals sector as a major driver of economic diversification.
About Lithium
Lithium (Li, atomic number 3) is the lightest solid element and the least dense of all metals. This highly reactive, soft, silvery-white alkali metal is an essential component of modern technology, serving as a primary ingredient in rechargeable batteries and certain psychiatric medications.
Because pure lithium never occurs freely in nature-it is usually extracted from mineral-rich rocks and subsurface saltwater brines-its properties and applications are classified into three distinct areas:
1. Batteries and Energy Storage
Lithium is the cornerstone of modern battery technology. Because it has a strong tendency to lose its single outer electron, it is ideal for generating electrical currents.
Electronics: It powers the rechargeable batteries found in smartphones, laptops, and digital cameras.