Partners geological survey agency
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) plans to seek a national policy that would stop export of strategic solid minerals overseas.
NASENI is partnering with the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) to identify, analyse and profile different strategic minerals, with a view to domesticate local production of end-products that can result from such minerals.
This was revealed by Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bashir Gwandu, when he received the Director General of NGSA, Dr. Abdulrazaq A. Garba, who was on a working visit to NASENI headquarters in Abuja, yesterday.
The two agencies agreed to work on areas of possible collaborations and domesticate the end-product that can result from abundant mineral resources in the country. They also agreed to create jobs, improve the economy and reduce capital flights by encouraging potential investors to set up processing plants in Nigeria for local production.
Speaking at the meeting, Gwandu said Nigeria has so many strategic raw materials and must focus on processing of its solid minerals through a policy that would stop exportation of certain raw materials and encourage investors, especially international manufacturers, to come and establish their plants in Nigeria and produce locally.
Sighting examples of lithium, titanium, low grade cobalt, nickel, tungsten ore, copper, phosphate, and kaolin, which are in large quantities across the country, Gwandu said undocumented or artisanal miners are exporting thousands of tonnes of lithium weekly, without knowing the value of other associated minerals such as rubidium and cesium in the lithium.
He further explained that since electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be made from it; he had invited some foreign companies that produce batteries, including Chinese investors, to discuss ways of ensuring lithium batteries are manufactured in Nigeria.
In his response, Garba said he was excited that NASENI established an institute in Nasarawa State for solid minerals research, promising he would work with the agency on creation of more laboratories for scientific researches and mineral analysis.
He said: “If we can have a synergy, we can take it beyond this, and we can begin to domesticate the use of raw materials. We have the composition and details of the location of so many of them. What we need is to work together to domesticate industrial minerals processing. We are here to seek collaboration on technological development and domestication of the use of our industrial minerals.”
The two agencies agreed to work together on the issue of a national policy to ban exportation of strategic minerals at the highest levels of government.
