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Nigeria has pitched its $600 million lithium processing plant and a series of gold refinery projects to Saudi investors as it seeks to attract foreign capital into its solid minerals sector and deepen cooperation in critical minerals.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made the pitch during a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, prior to the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.
Alake said the lithium project, located in Nasarawa State, is valued at $600 million and is ready for commissioning.
He added that Nigeria currently has one operational gold refinery in Lagos producing high-purity output, with three additional refineries at different stages of development.
According to the minister, the projects reflect the Nigerian government’s strategy to move away from exporting raw minerals and instead promote in-country processing and value addition.
“Nigeria’s value-addition policy is already yielding tangible results, with a gold refining plant of very high purity now operational in Lagos, three additional gold refineries at various stages of development, and a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State ready for commissioning,” the minister said.
He told the Saudi delegation that Nigeria was keen to leverage its comparative advantages to deepen its relationship with Saudi Arabia, especially in exploration, technology transfer, capacity building, and training mining professionals.
“Priority areas include capacity building, training of mining professionals, technology transfer, and particularly exploration, where Saudi Arabia has demonstrated some expertise.”
