The Nasarawa State government has inaugurated a $400 million rare earth and critical processing plant at Uke, in Karu local council.

Performing the ground-breaking, Governor Abdullahi Sule applauded the management team of Hasetins Commodities Limited for setting up the company.

He said the 12,000-metric-tonne facility is one of the largest in Africa’s high-purity rare earth and critical metal hybrid processing plants for global tech, energy and defence sectors.

He stressed the critical role of rare earth and critical metals like tungsten, tin, coltan, tantalum and the rest in medicine production today.

In their goodwill messages, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who spoke virtually, as well as the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Solid Minerals Development Fund, Fatima Umaru Shinkafi, who is responsible for driving strategic investments in the mining sector and Henry Dele Alake, who also spoke virtually, congratulated Hasetins Commodities Limited for investing in rare earth and critical metal hybrid processing in the country.

They described the investment as a strategic sectoral potential-harnessing initiative that would advance the cause of technological innovations and invention, as rare earth and critical metals are crucial components in that direction.

Earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hasetins Commodities Limited, Jidayi Ijudigal, said the company is involved in a major investment in Nigeria to build  Africa’s largest rare earth and critical metals hybrid processing plant in Uke Development Area of Karu Local Government Area.