Nigeria IDs critical minerals to shift from oil

Nigeria says it has found a significant critical minerals area as Africa’s largest oil producer seeks to diversify its economy and join the race to supply battery and technology metals for the energy transition.

Kaduna state in the country’s northwest contains high-grade deposits of platinum group metals, gold, nickel, copper, lithium, and rare earth elements, officials said at the the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit in Abuja last week. Private company Steron Mining made the finds in collaboration with the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency. 

The Kaduna find represents a “world-class” mineral province and one of the most significant developments in the country’s mining sector in recent years, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, told the conference. 

“Nigeria is positioning itself among emerging destinations for strategic mineral resources and sustainable mining investment,” Alake told reporters at the summit, highlighting the growing importance of critical minerals in clean energy supply chains.

Industry observers caution that significant hurdles remain before the discoveries can be translated into large-scale production. Infrastructure constraints, power shortages, artisanal mining activity and regulatory challenges continue to weigh on the development of Nigeria’s mining industry.

Lithium

The announcement coincided with the disclosure by Steron Mining that exploration work at its Abuja-area operation had identified about 3.3 million tonnes of lithium reserves. Company geologists said the broader project hosts an estimated 94.8 million tonnes of mineral resources, including lithium-bearing ore and granitic rock. The company didn’t disclose a lithium grade, resource classification or contained lithium estimate.

The discoveries come as governments and manufacturers worldwide scramble to secure supplies of lithium and other battery metals needed for electric vehicles, energy storage systems and renewable energy infrastructure.

Nigeria’s lithium potential has attracted growing international interest. Chinese companies, including Jiuling Lithium and Canmax Technologies, have committed more than $1.3 billion toward processing facilities in the country, including Kaduna state, while foreign investors continue to acquire exploration and mining licences across several states.

The government has increasingly emphasized domestic beneficiation, seeking to move beyond the export of raw ore and build local processing capacity. During the recent summit, Steron said it already processes lithium ore locally before export in line with federal policies aimed at increasing value addition within Nigeria.