Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has called on Qatari investors to tap into the country’s Lithium, with comprehensive data on its reserves, available at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, according to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake.
The Minister disclosed this in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, at a meeting with Qatari businessmen on the sidelines of the visit of President Bola Tinubu to the Arab country.
He is part of the delegation that accompanied President Tinubu on the visit to Doha, Qatar to strengthen cooperation between the nations in several sectors, including economic development.
In a statement by his Special Adviser, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, Mr Alake said that mineral exploration initiated by the federal government identified locations with lithium deposits in commercial quantities in high grades.
He said the information was available to help businessmen in Qatar, interested in establishing lithium companies in Nigeria.
The Minister said this while responding to inquiries on the qualities of Nigerian lithium by Qatari business mogul, Sheikh Shahid Jawad at the meeting held at the prestigious Sheraton, Doha.
Stressing the quality of Lithium in Nigeria, he recalled a visit to Australia where samples of rock composites from Nigeria, after laboratory analysis, confirmed the presence of high-grade lithium content.
“It shows that the quality of Nigerian lithium has been recognised by the global mining sector, “ he said.
Mr Alake said the Nigerian government had put in place generous, investor-friendly policies to facilitate businesses.
Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of Solid Minerals Development Fund, Mrs Fatimah Shinkafi urged investors to explore opportunities in mining infrastructure.
Giving the example of Vale, a mining company in Brazil that invested in trains to ease the transportation of minerals from the mines to the processing towns, Mrs Shinkafi said the government would continue to provide transportation facilities to the mines.
“While the government provides transport to the mines, mining companies that recognise the significance of transportation to their future cost control will invest wisely by supplementing the government’s efforts.”
