Chinese firms invested $1.3bn in Nigeria’s lithium sector—Alake

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has said Chinese companies invested $1.3billion in Lithium processing in Nigeria. Mr Alake stated this while speaking on the 2025 China Mining Conference with the theme “Connect and Collaborate, Co-Build and Co-Share” in Tianjin. This is contained in a statement by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Tomori said the minister reviewed the Chinese mining business in Nigeria and acknowledged their contributions to lithium processing since the administration of President Bola Tinubu assumed office. He said, “Since September 2023, when this administration assumed office, Chinese companies such as Canmax Technology, Jiuling Lithium, Avatar New Energy Nigeria Company, and Asba have invested over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in lithium processing. The investments have boosted Nigeria’s economic diversification efforts, reduced its dependency on oil and attracted infrastructure, technology transfer and expertise.
“Joint Ventures between Chinese and Nigerian companies in the mining sector often enhance local capabilities and skills among Nigerian workers and engineers.” The minister urged investors to scale up participation in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, following reforms that offer prospects of higher returns. He highlighted security reforms, including the establishment of mining narshals and a satellite monitoring system for mining sites, introduced to curb illegal mining and protect licensed operators. He said the ministry was intentional about facilitating ease of doing business in the sector through technology upgrades, including the Electronic Mining Cadastre (eMC+) and the deployment of the Nigerian Mineral Resources Decision System (NMRDS). According to Mr Alake, processing mining licence applications through the eMC+ and using the NMRDS for mineral information are improving remote transactions in Nigeria’s mining sector.
Mr Alake, who is also the chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening continental cooperation in mineral exploration and reporting standards. He emphasised that Africa must build shared systems of knowledge and governance to fully benefit from its vast mineral endowments. He reaffirmed plans to strengthen the regional Centres of Excellence in Geosciences and Mining Skills, and to expand the role of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) in supporting early‑stage exploration alongside de‑risking investments. He added, “We warmly invite investors, development partners, and technical institutions to explore Nigeria’s vast opportunities in minerals such as lithium, gold, lead-zinc, barite, and rare earth elements. Our government offers a conducive investment climate, improved security of tenure, and incentives that guarantee mutual benefit.
“Nigeria’s vision is not only to extract minerals, but to also build a globally competitive value chain that supports clean energy transition, job creation, and industrial growth, all within the framework of responsible mining.”