- Alake made this announcement at the ongoing Nigeria Mining Week event in Abuja
The Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dele Alake, has outlined conditions for international mining companies seeking licenses to operate within Nigeria.
He specified that such companies would need to invest in domestic processing as a prerequisite for obtaining a license.
Alake made this announcement at the ongoing Nigeria Mining Week event in Abuja.
He emphasized that mining companies must submit business plans focused on “value addition” as part of the licensing process. This policy is aimed at promoting job creation within the sector.
In his words,“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 $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).”
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