President Bola Tinubu has opened what the Federal Government calls West Africa’s largest lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State. He said Nigeria needs to stop exporting raw minerals and start processing them locally to create jobs and boost industrial growth.
The plant is located in the Endo community, within Nasarawa Local Government Area. It can process 6,000 metric tonnes daily and has an annual capacity of 3,000,000 metric tonnes.
The President, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the event on Thursday, said the plant shows the government’s commitment to developing the solid minerals sector through local value addition.
He noted that countries don’t grow rich just because they have many natural resources. They become prosperous by turning those resources into economic chances.
“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 stated.
Tinubu emphasized that Nigeria must move from just taking raw minerals to processing them locally and making finished goods. “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,” he added.
The President called lithium one of the world’s most important minerals. He mentioned its rising role in battery production, electric vehicles, and renewable energy technologies.
“A factory is never just a building; it is where policy becomes employment, where investment becomes production, and where hope begins to acquire structure,” he said.
The company managing the facility announced it has created over 1,000 direct jobs and more than 2,000 indirect jobs since starting operations.
This inauguration follows a recent report by PREMIUM TIMES. The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, mentioned the discovery of a world-class polymetallic mineral province in Kaduna State. This area has deposits of platinum group metals, gold, nickel, copper, lithium, and rare earth elements. Alake said this discovery, confirmed by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), is one of the most significant developments in Nigeria’s mining sector in recent years. It further strengthens Nigeria’s potential for critical minerals.
According to Alake, the inauguration shows the Federal Government’s progress on local value addition in the mining sector. “What we are doing here today is an eloquent testimony to the prophetic statement of Mr President on the one hand, and to our own commitment in the Ministry of Solid Minerals… to developing and transforming Nigeria’s solid minerals sector,” he said.
He reiterated that Nigeria will no longer support the export of raw minerals without local processing. “Local value addition became a pillar of our policies in the Ministry of Solid Minerals,” he said.
Alake added that many African countries are starting to adopt similar policies to promote local mineral processing. “Our goal is to begin to produce lithium batteries, vehicles, phones, solar panels, solar-powered turbines, and every gadget that uses lithium as a base requirement for its performance. We want to produce everything in Nigeria.”
Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule called the project a major investment in the state’s economy. He urged more investors to explore opportunities in the mining sector. He mentioned that the state has commercial deposits of lithium, lead, zinc, copper, gold, iron ore, gemstones, and marble, as well as vast agricultural potential.
“I want to thank the chairman and the CEO of this company for believing in us and coming to Nasarawa State,” the Governor said.
Speaking on behalf of Diamond New Energy, Yu Chongqiang said the company is investing beyond mining. They are developing processing facilities, infrastructure, workforce training, and partnerships with local communities. He explained that the company’s long-term goal is to create an integrated industrial platform that will boost local manufacturing, support supply chains, and contribute to Africa’s clean energy future.
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