Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated a lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State in northern Nigeria with a daily processing capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes and an annual capacity of 3 million metric tonnes.
President Tinubu, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, described solid minerals as the enduring backbone of every economy, noting that no technology can thrive without them.
He said that the Federal Government had accorded the sector high priority because of its strategic importance to Nigeria’s industrialisation and economic diversification agenda.
The President, however, stressed that natural resource endowment alone could not guarantee national prosperity.
“Natural resources may be a blessing, but only vision can turn them into wealth. Only institutions can protect that wealth. Only industry can multiply it and only people can give it meaning,” he said.
According to Tinubu, while Nigeria is endowed with abundant deposits of lithium, gold, tin, iron ore, bitumen, coal and rare earth elements, meaningful development will only come through local processing and value addition.
“But pride does not build factories. Statistics do not create jobs, and mineral maps do not transform the lives of young Nigerians.
“What changes a nation is a deliberate movement from extraction to processing, from potential to production, from raw materials to value-added goods and from isolated investments to integrated industrial ecosystems.
“That is why this occasion matters. The commissioning of Diamond New Energy projects here in Nasarawa State represents confidence in Nigeria, in Nasarawa State and in the reforms introduced by this administration,” he said.
Tinubu described lithium as one of the defining minerals driving the global energy transition through battery technology, electric mobility and renewable energy storage.
He explained that the new processing plant represents more than an industrial facility, as it translates government policies into employment opportunities, increased production and economic growth.
In his remarks, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule appreciated all the stakeholders who contributed to the successful establishment of the processing plant and thanked the company for investing in the state.
He urged more investors to explore opportunities in Nasarawa, assuring them of a conducive business environment and abundant deposits of lithium, lead, zinc, copper, gemstones, gold, marble and iron ore.
In his speech, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, said that the inauguration of the processing plant demonstrated the effectiveness of the Nigerian Government’s reforms in the mining sector.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to ending the export of raw minerals in favour of local processing and value addition to create jobs, expand investment opportunities and develop skilled manpower.
“Local value addition became a pillar of our policies in the Ministry of Solid Minerals, and I am pleased that operators in the sector have embraced and implemented it, just as Diamond New Energy Company has done.
“Today, other African countries are adopting similar policies by restricting the export of raw minerals and encouraging domestic processing,” he said.
Alake expressed confidence that Nigeria would, in the future, manufacture lithium batteries, electric vehicles, mobile phones, solar panels and other products that rely on lithium as a key component.
Earlier, Mr. Yu Chongqiang, Chairman of Diamond New Energy Company Ltd., said that the company’s vision was to position Nigeria as a global leader in responsible mineral development, value addition and industrial innovation.
He said that the company had invested significantly in advanced processing technology, infrastructure, workforce development, environmental sustainability and partnerships with government and host communities.
GIK/APA