Nasarawa set to commission Nigeria's largest Lithium processing plant

Nigeria's first and biggest lithium processing plant is set to be commissioned in May by the Federal Government in Nasarawa state.

The Nasarawa state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, made this known while briefing journalists in Abuja on the forthcoming Nasarawa Investment Summit (NIS) 2024, which will be held on May 15 at the state capital, Lafia.

According to governor Sule, he had already had discussions with the Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, concerning the commissioning of the Lithium Processing Plant, and added that the state's residents would benefit from this project.

He said: "I want the Honourable Minister Dele Alake at the Ministry of Solid Minerals. The invitation was for him to agree on the commissioning of the first and largest lithium processing plant we will have in Nigeria, which will produce 4000 metric tonnes a day, which is coming up in May in Nasarawa.

“Industrialization plays a significant role in economic development, creating employment opportunities, and improving citizens' quality of life. These are areas of focus for us in Nasarawa state."

Sule added that FG met with potential foreign partners interested in investing in the plant, stating that a Russian delegation also visited the state.

According to the governor, the state will create a bureau to check the many signed deals that need implementation.

He said: “The country has over 200 trillion standard cubic feet of gas reserves. And yet, 40 billion barrels of oil. What that means is that Nasarawa is also just coming up. Just for the site talks of it, one of the reasons why all the drilling aspects have not been completed until now is because they came across gas too early during the operation in Nasarawa state.

“I have been following that well and want to ensure it’s completed as soon as possible. They came across gas too early, so they had to do what we call the importation of water for them to continue with the operation. So that’s how blessed Nigeria is and indeed Nasarawa state in this case.”

BEB