Economy
Nigeria to Launch $800m Lithium Processing Plants
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is planning to launch four lithium processing plants worth more than $800 million before the end of 2025, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, has disclosed.
He noted that $600 million lithium processing factories near Kaduna and Niger are about to be commissioned while another $200 million refinery near Abuja is nearly ready.
He added that two more plants are coming online in Nasarawa before the third quarter of this year.
Lithium is a solid material that has several uses across devices and health. It is used in smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, metal alloys, high-temperature glass, and ceramics.
“When we came into office, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector was underperforming. In 2023, it generated just N6 billion in revenue. By the end of 2024, that number had grown to N38 billion. That kind of turnaround tells you something is working. One of the first things we did was tighten the licensing process.
“We made it clear that no one gets a mining license without showing a real plan for local processing. Exporting raw minerals without adding value here at home wasn’t helping our economy, and we had to stop that. Since then, we’ve seen real results of over $800 million in processing investments last year alone.
“We’ve got a $600 million lithium processing plant near Kaduna and Niger about to be commissioned. Another $200 million refinery near Abuja is nearly ready. Two more plants are coming online in Nasarawa before the third quarter of this year,” he wrote.
Mr Alake said the projects will create more jobs, technology, and a stronger local economy.
“Exploration has also been a priority. When we took office, Nigeria had only spent $2 million on mineral exploration. By comparison, Côte d’Ivoire had spent $148 million, and South Africa more than $300 million. No serious investor takes you seriously without credible geological data.”
He said the Ministry had secured N1 trillion for mineral exploration to make the sector globally competitive.
“That’s why this year, we’ve secured N1 trillion specifically for mineral exploration to build the foundation for a globally competitive sector. We’re also confronting illegal mining head-on. Over 300 arrests were made last year, with 150 prosecutions ongoing and several convictions already secured, including foreign nationals.
“We’re also supporting local miners by formalising their operations. So far, over 250 cooperatives have been established to help small-scale miners get access to finance and share in the revenue.”
“Nigeria now chairs the African Mineral Strategy Group, a new bloc focused on local value addition and fairer mineral trade.”
He tied the sector’s achievements to a direct result of the vision laid out by President Bola Tinubu, adding that investor interest is surging.
“Just this quarter, the Mining Cadastral Office received over 10,000 applications. That kind of momentum didn’t exist before. It’s a sign that our reforms are working. We’ve still got work to do, but the direction is clear.
“We’re turning Nigeria’s mineral wealth into real economic value for our people, our industries, and our future,” he said.
By Dipo Olowookere
A day after crossing the 124,000-point threshold, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited hit another milestone on Friday after it closed higher by 1.37 per cent.
Business Post reports that the benchmark index of Customs Street finished at 126,149.59 points after adding 1,702.79 points to the 124,446.80 points it ended a day earlier.
Equally, the market capitalisation of the Nigerian bourse, which measures the total value of stocks on the platform, went up by N1.077 trillion to N79.803 trillion from N78.726 trillion.
At the trading session, 65 equities ended on the gainers’ chart and 25 equities finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Guinness Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria, Consolidated Hallmark, and NEM Insurance all gained 10.00 per cent each to close at N96.80, N60.50, N3.63, and N22.00 apiece, and Red Star Express improved by 9.98 per cent to N13.44.
Conversely, Learn Africa depreciated by 8.66 per cent to N6.01, Tantalizers shed 6.25 per cent to settle at N3.00, Prestige Assurance slumped by 6.02 per cent to N1.25, Regency Alliance crashed by 5.62 per cent to 84 Kobo, and Oando lost 4.61 per cent to close at N51.70.
The NGX recorded a turnover of 1.4 billion shares traded for N30.6 billion in 33,399 deals on Friday compared with the 1.3 billion shares worth N27.7 billion traded in 27,875 deals on Thursday, implying an increase in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 7.69 per cent, 10.47 per cent, and 19.82 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings led the activity chart with 172.9 million units sold for N4.2 billion, Ellah Lakes traded 144.9 million units valued at N1.8 billion, Japaul exchanged 138.7 million units worth N498.8 million, UBA transacted 73.0 million units worth N3.2 billion, and AIICO Insurance traded 60.7 million units worth N135.7 million.
A look at the sectorial performance indicated that the banking index grew by 5.61 per cent, the insurance counter rose by 3.78 per cent, and the industrial goods sector expanded by 1.69 per cent.
However, the energy space depreciated by 0.49 per cent, the consumer goods industry went down by 0.23 per cent, and the commodity sector slipped by 0.02 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended the last trading session of this week with a 0.26 per cent gain on Friday, July 11, helped by renewed buying interest by investors.
This increased their portfolios by N5.27 billion during the session, with the market capitalisation of the bourse closing at N2.01 trillion compared with the N2.005 trillion it ended at the preceding session.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) expanded yesterday by 9.01 points to settle at 3,433.20 points, in contrast to the 3,424.19 points it finished a day earlier.
It was observed that the volume of securities traded by the market participants went down by 12.6 per cent to 2.7 million units from the 3.08 million units transacted on Thursday.
However, the value of securities transacted by investors appreciated by 55.6 per cent to N38.9 million from N25.1 million, and the number of deals executed jumped by 9.7 per cent to 34 deals from the 31 deals deals completed on Thursday.
Okitipupa Plc finished the day as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.8 million units worth N4.9 billion, Air Liquide Plc occupied the second spot with 507.2 million units sold for N4.2 billion, and the third place was taken by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 42.2 million units valued at N1.8 billion.
Impresit Bakolori Plc also closed as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 536.9 million units traded for N524.8 million, followed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units sold for N4.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 270.6 million units worth N486.0 million.
The single price loser for the session was Geo-Fluids Plc as its price depleted by 20 Kobo to N4.59 per share from N4.79 per share.
But, Air Liquide Plc gained 98 Kobo to close at N10.92 per unit versus N9.94 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc grew by 56 Kobo to N33.00 per share from N32.44 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc increased by 47 Kobo to N64.36 per unit from N63.89 per unit, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc rose by 30 Kobo to N3.38 per share from N3.08 per share, and UBN Property Plc soared by 19 Kobo to N2.10 per unit from N1.91 per unit.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was another bad day for the Nigerian Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday as its value further weakened against the US Dollar.
Data harvested by Business Post showed that it lost N4.50 or 0.29 per cent against the greenback during the trading session to finish at N1,531.10/$1 compared with the N1,526.60/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
However, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same official market yesterday by N31.10 to close at N2,066.31/£1 compared with the previous day’s N2,070.29/£1 and gained N5.95 on the Euro to sell for N1,783.57/€1, in contrast to the N1,787.66/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the black market, the Naira weakened against the United States currency on Friday by N5 to quote at N1,535/$1 versus the N1,530/$1 it was transacted in the preceding trading day.
After initial volatility in the first half of the year, the Naira has showed stability even as global oil prices declined, a sharp contrast to its previous fundamentals and this is expected to continue amid rising FX reserves.
Recent data from early July indicates a slight improvement in the country’s FX reserves, primarily attributed to enhanced foreign portfolio investment (FPI) inflows; however, the trajectory of reserves remains susceptible to external headwinds.
The reduced FX demand pressures, particularly due to a slowdown in import trade-related outflows are also expected to provide support.
Also, there are early signs that import-related FX demand is beginning to recover in the past few days.
Also, the Naira appreciated by 3.5 per cent in June 2025, to close at N1,532.0 per Dollar at the official window driven by improved market sentiment.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market firmed up yesterday, with Ripple (XRP) chalking up 6.9 per cent to sell at $2.76, as traders look for regulatory clarity and practical adoption. This week, Ripple Labs’ CEO, Mr Brad Garlinghouse, argued for clearer crypto regulations at the US Senate Banking Committee.
Regulation could be beneficial for the token which has positioned itself an institutional-grade cryptocurrency rather than other speculative assets.
Further, Cardano (ADA) added 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.7132, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.5 per cent to $0.2009, and Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.9 per cent settle at $692.79.
On the flip side, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 2.2 per cent to $93.04, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.9 per cent to $2,963.58, Solana (SOL) slipped by 0.7 per cent to $162.95, and Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 2.4 per cent to close at $111,412.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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