The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has said Nigeria has comprehensive data on its Lithium reserves, available at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for investors to peruse.
The minister made the disclosure in Doha, Qatar on Saturday, at a meeting with Qatari businessmen on the sidelines of the visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Arab country.
In a statement by his Special Adviser, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, 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 was responding to enquires on the quality of Nigerian lithium by Qatari business mogul , Sheikh Shahid Jawad at the meeting which 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 presence of high grade lithium content.
“It shows that the quality of Nigerian lithium has been recognised by the global mining sector, “ he said.
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 transportation of minerals from the mines to the processing towns, Shinkafi said government would continue to provide transportation facilities to the mines.
“While government provides transport to the mines, mining companies that recognise the significance of transportation to their future cost control will invest wisely by supplementing government’s efforts.”
The Vice- chairman of the Qatar- Nigerian Chamber of Business, Muhammed Santuraki said the chamber was formed in 2017 to build business relations between both countries.
Recalling a recent visit to a gold mine in Nasarawa, Santuraki observed the existence of good roads for the haulage of minerals to the ports.
Other businessmen at the top- level meeting were Sheikh El Jouneid, Chief Executive Officer, ETCC Qatar and Aminu Dahiru, chairman, Asdub Oil & Gas.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that five states comprising of Nassarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti and Cross River are currently mining Lithium with more states such as Bauchi, that has reported discovering deposits.
The minister is part of the delegation that accompanied President Tinubu on the visit to Doha, Qatar to strengthen cooperation between the nations on several sectors, including economic development. (NAN)
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