• Mining firm estimates 3.3m mt of lithium reserves in Abuja

Deji Elumoye and Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has charged member countries of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) to speak with one voice to promote Africa’s collective interests, ensure value addition, and prevent the continent from becoming merely a source of raw materials for the rest of the world.

Tinubu gave the charge yesterday while receiving a delegation of AMSG in the State House. AMSG is a forum of ministers in charge of Mining and Solid Minerals on the continent. The President is the Grand Patron of the group, which is chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.

The President told the delegation that the group has a critical role to play in strengthening Africa’s bargaining power in the global mineral market and ensuring that the continent derives maximum value from its natural resources.

According to him: “What we should do is avoid bureaucracy and deceit; we must put an end to exploitation. The rest of the world won’t mind if your country is a cesspit of dams and rubbish and excavates your raw materials without giving value.

“It is our responsibility to collaborate and cooperate to ensure that these metals and minerals bring value to us, bring technology to us, and we can do it. It is how much each country will put into the research, development and refinery.

“I don’t see reasons we cannot demand centralisation of that conversation somewhere on the continent. So why not utilise that in our research and development and knowledge-based economy to enhance the quality of life and bring prosperity to our people”.

Tinubu emphasised that Africa possesses enormous mineral wealth that should be strategically harnessed to drive industrialisation, create jobs and accelerate economic transformation across the continent.

The President stressed that the era of exporting raw minerals without local processing and beneficiation must give way to a new model that encourages investment in local industries, technology transfer and the development of value chains that retain wealth within Africa.

Earlier, Chairman of AMSG and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Alake, expressed gratitude to the President for his exemplary leadership under the Renewed Hope Agenda, which, according to him, has shown support for Nigeria’s mineral sector, especially in the local value-addition and economic diversification drive, where artisanal miners are empowered.

He said other African countries are emulating this approach. Alake told the President: “You encouraged us to look at the focal point of the establishment of this group, which is to ensure that the African natural resources, especially with regards to minerals, critical matters, are localised, the beneficiation coming directly to Africans generally.

“You charged us that we should set our sails very high and ensure that local value addition is a pivot around which all the objectives of this organisation should revolve. So, sir, we have implemented your charge and we are acquitted that today local value addition is reverberating all over Africa.”

He added that some member countries have gone ahead to ban the export of raw minerals.

Alake also said AMSG members are in Abuja for the Fifth edition of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026), where leaders are expected to push for a new continental approach to resource management and industrial development.

The Summit, with the theme “One Africa. One Resource Vision” aims to position Africa as a major player in the global critical minerals value chain by promoting beneficiation, industrialisation and strategic cooperation among member states.

Meanwhile, Steron Mining and Company Limited has estimated its lithium reserves at 3.3 million metric tonnes at its mining site in Abuja, as the company intensifies exploration activities aimed at supporting Nigeria’s growing role in the global energy transition.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Abu Omar, disclosed this yesterday while hosting participants of the AFNIS at the mining site.

According to Omar, the visit was organised to showcase indigenous participation in Nigeria’s mining sector and demonstrate how local operators are contributing to the development of critical minerals.

“We are honoured to host the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) and the African mining community for an excursion, showcasing what it looks like for a local Nigerian to run a mining operation like this,” he said.

He explained that visitors were taken through the entire mining process, from mineral occurrence and exploration to drilling, blasting and production.

“We showcased the mining cycle from the occurrence of the minerals to the inference, to the core drills, to the identification of where the veins are and the depth and nature of these minerals, which is lithium here.

“We also showed the team how to drill, blast and haul for production. We took them and showed them the tunnels where we are directly feeding off from the veins. We have two types of operations here: open-pit mining and tunnelling,” Omar said.

The CEO noted that the company began operations as a granite quarry before discovering lithium deposits and, more recently, occurrences of tantalite.

“We also have granite, which is the host rock here in abundance. That was the initial thing we started off with. We discovered lithium some years ago and now we have found occurrences of tantalite. Exploration has just begun,” he added.

Describing lithium as a strategic mineral, Omar said it was central to battery production and the global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

“Lithium is used to power the future through batteries. That is where the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is headed, and it is one of the most reliable sources supporting renewable energy,” he said.

Speaking on the company’s operations, Omar said Steron Mining focuses on value addition by processing and upgrading lithium ore before export. “We do not cherry-pick buyers at this point. We add value by processing and separating the waste from the good stuff. In that way, we are able to feed processing plants around us, increasing the purity from one to three per cent to about six to seven per cent, making it ready for export,” he said.

He also commended government policies aimed at boosting local participation in the mining sector.

“The government of today has dedicated time and effort to ensuring that local participation is prioritised. That has led to the birth of operations like this. These policies have also welcomed foreigners, which is what AFNIS is showcasing,” Omar said.

On community relations, he said the company had prioritised the safety and welfare of host communities.

“We have prioritised social licence by putting the community first and ensuring their safety and well-being. As you can see, they celebrate this visit more than we do, and we have become one with them,” he stated.

Also speaking, the company’s geologist, Bello Damulak, said exploration and core drilling activities had revealed an estimated 94.8 million metric tonnes of mineral resources at the site.

“So far, our exploration work has given us an estimated mineral resource of 94.8 million metric tonnes of all minerals, including granite. The lithium reserve is estimated at 3.3 million metric tonnes, while granitic rock accounts for 91.4 million metric tonnes,” he said.

Damulak added that the estimates were derived from detailed exploration activities and would guide future mining operations at the site.