Oladele Alake, a consummate journalist, cerebral, shrewd administrator, robust analyst, is suddenly thrown into the deep abyss of the Solid Minerals management by the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has deployed him to the Solid Minerals Ministry.

Alake might be a versatile administrator, but his new duty post may stretch his cognitive capabilities beyond limits. In this national assignment, he is going to confront a deadly gang of solid mineral jackals, more deadlier than the Crude oil thieves.

In his new assignment, the veteran editor is clearly in a no man’s land. He is going to be evaluated at the end of the Tinubu’s presidency solely on his performance here, and no recourse to any past exploits. But most unfortunately, he may not find a news editor, or a sub editor to guide the gate for him, but, mostly, some ravenous civil servants, who most probably are in cahoots with the mining gangsters. Yet, he has to navigate this uncertain territory, all laced with all the banana’s peels and deadly mines.

The man Alake himself seems to fully aware of the challenges ahead in the new forte. But he claimed to have deliberately chosen to confront the challenges bugging down the minerals sector of the nation’s economy.

Speaking inside the Presiden­tial Villa shortly after being sworn in, Alake claimed that he chose to vie off from information and communication area to pursue his passion for solid mineral.
“Of course, I’m very prepared. It is funny really because all over the world and especially here in Nigeria, those who have been following the historical development, particularly the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu political system, would conclude that I will be in the Information Ministry, as if I’ve been pigeon-holed into the information system. Of course, you don’t blame them because of the antecedents that are known.

Nigeria, either in the arid region of the North East, the savannah belt of the North West, or the lustrous green forests of the North Central have an undeterminable volume of deep solid minerals lying in the bowels of her soil. And when you go down the delta region of the South South, or the South East, then navigating to the South West, the huge deposits stark a curious geo-physics engineer in the face. The country is simply blessed with untold quantity of solid minerals, and in virtually all regions, all states.

But the lacuna between the riches that come with such deposits and the country economy health lies in the activities of the vicious, unscrupulous, wild jackals, the baron miners, mostly illegal. And these filthily rich jackals are the people, Dele Alake, a journalist has been thrown into ring to square up with.

While the country wallows in deep pit of external debt, the illegal and their enablers, miners smiles to the banks, with huge dollars deposits regularly.
The mining sector of the economy have never been recorded to contribute much to the nation’s economy despite its huge potentials. Not that the ministry has been bereft of capable administrator, at least, the widely acknowledged cerebral Dr. Kayode Fayemi, once superintended the Ministry. He did not achieve much before he dumped the Ministry to pursued his governorship ambition in Ekiti State in 2018.

Like many jurisdictions, such as the UAE and Australia, the mining industry in Nigeria is regulated by the Federal Government. The government ministry tasked with this responsibility is the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, now renamed Ministry of Solid Minerals.

To protect its resources and regulate all aspects of exploration and exploitation of solid minerals in the country, the Nigerian government re-enacted the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act in 2007. This Act vested ownership and control of all lands where minerals are found in commercial quantities in the Federal Government, thereby prohibiting unauthorised persons from exploring and exploiting these mineral resources.

The Federal Government grants the right to explore and exploit minerals in Nigeria by issuing various mineral titles. Thus, a mining company wishing to mine lithium or any solid mineral in Nigeria requires one of the mineral titles in the form of a:
The type of mineral title obtained depends on the mining activity the applicant company wants to undertake.

However, the descriptions of the various mineral titles are set out below.

Reconnaissance permit
The holder of a reconnaissance permit has the non-transferable, non-exclusive right to obtain and remove surface samples in small quantities. The permit is for 1 year, renewable annually and expressly prohibits excavation drilling and other subsurface activities.

Exploration licence
A person who holds an exploration licence has the exclusive right to conduct exploration within the licence area (not exceeding 200 kilometres) for a period of three years and it is renewable for two further periods of two years each. The exploration licence grants the holder the right to remove, conduct bulk sampling and testing, export and sell mineral resources within the limits prescribed in the licence.

Small-scale mining lease
A small-scale mining lease is issued upon fulfilment of all the conditions attached to the exploration licence. The lease is valid for five years and is renewable for a further period of five years. A small-scale mining lease grants the holder the exclusive right to carry out small-scale mining operations within an area between five hectares to three kilometres. The holder of a small-scale mining lease may apply to the Mining Cadastre Office to convert the small-scale mining lease to a mining lease.

Mining lease
A mining lease is granted for 25 years and is renewable every 24 years. The mining lease is granted for commercial-scale mining and gives the holder the exclusive right to use, occupy and exploit minerals in the lease area not exceeding 50 kilometres.

Quarry lease
A quarry lease allows the holder to carry out quarry operations, exploit naturally occurring minerals (eg, clay, marble, gypsum, limestone, gravel, and sand), remove and dispose of any minerals in the lease area, not exceeding five kilometres. A quarry lease is issued for a five-year period and is renewable every five years.

Water use permit
A water use permit is an ancillary permit granted to the holders of any mineral title who require the use of water for their operations.
With these statutory regulations in place, it still beat observers hollow how the entire landscape is presently being ravaged by the illegal miners.
Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana alleged that raw gold worth some 9 billion US dollars are smuggled out of the country annually. How are these people able to do this?
The new discovery, the lithium deposits can effectively push Crude oil off the top chart of the nation’s annual income, if well managed.

According to research, the global lithium market was valued at $37.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach a valuation of $22.2 billion in 2023. The market is expected to reach $89.9 billion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of 22.1 percent during the forecast period.

This growth is forecast to be driven by an increasing number of advancements in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, laptops, mobile phones, electric vehicles, and digital cameras.
“The surge in battery demand is due to the development of environmentally sustainable solutions and is set to drive market growth,” said analysts at BusinessFortune Insights, a global market research firm.
Based on end-user, the market is segmented into automotive, consumer electronics, industrial, energy storage, and others. The automobile industry is dominating as lithium-ion battery technology is being used as an alternative source of energy.

It is believed that demand for lithium-based power will rise rapidly with the growth of the electric-vehicle (EV) market. Forecasts by Tesla suggest the company will need approximately 1,000 kilotons of lithium carbonate equivalent per year by 2030, or 16 times its 2022 needs and 30 percent more than the world currently produces.
Overall, the global passenger EV market, which relies on lithium-based batteries, is expected to grow annually by 26 percent through 2030 and this will create an opportunity for countries like Nigeria with lithium deposits.

Forecast lithium market deficit is expected to grow out to 2040, driven by significant demand and tight supply.
“With the forecasted lithium market deficit expected to grow out by 2040, with an untapped lithium potential in West Africa, we believe it is a great opportunity to help diversify our existing gold production. In addition, we have continued to add further permits containing lithium-bearing pegmatites to our portfolio. And [we] look forward to updating the market with drill results and the progress of our exploration over the coming weeks and through to the end of the year,” said Lawson.

Nigeria has a great opportunity here. According to the study by Thor, Nigeria has favourable geological settings without advanced modern systematic exploration. Only small-scale spodumene and lepidolite mining are taking place but there are prospects for larger-scale mining in Kaduna after a Chinese firm secured drilling rights.
Nigeria also holds one of the largest economies in Africa and is capable of value-adding industries associated with the lithium supply chain. The government’s ambition is that battery minerals production will significantly reduce the current dependence on petroleum production.

“Experts say illegal mining, poor government policies, and insecurity all the sector; hence the government must formalise the sector.
“Seizing the opportunity in the sector, other countries are reforming their rules to attract huge investments. Chile, for example, recently clarified mining rules with a new public-private partnership model, leading to more than 50 companies from around the world jostling to negotiate lithium deals in a country that represents 30 percent of global lithium production.
From talc to lithium, all minerals with huge economic potentials, Nigeria is hugely blessed with solid mineral deposits. The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), puts the talc deposits in the country at over 40 million tonnes. These huge deposits were identified in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun and Kaduna states.
Also, Gypsum, an important input for the production of cement. It is also used for the production of Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) and classroom chalks. RMRDC says about one billion tonnes of gypsum deposits are spread over many states in Nigeria.

The case of Iron Ore is more pathetic. The country has been battling with this vital solid mineral since the late sixties, yet there seems to be no headway in its exploration and management. RMRDC believes there are over 3 billion metric tonnes of iron ore in deposits in Kogi, Enugu and Niger States as well as the Federal Capital Territory. Although, Iron Ore is being mined at Itakpe in Kogi State and is already being beneficiated, up to 67 per cent of iron. The Aladja and Ajaokuta Steel complexes are said to be ready for consumers of billets and other iron products for down-stream industries.

An estimated 10 million tonnes of lead/zinc veins are spread over eight states of Nigeria. Proven reserves in three prospects in the east-central area are 5 million tonnes.
Bentonite and Baryte are the main constituents of the mud used in the drilling of all types of oil wells. The Nigerian baryte has specific gravity of about 4.3. Over 7.5 million tonnes of baryte have been identified in Taraba and Bauchi States. Large bentonite reserves of 700 million tonnes are available in many states of the federation ready for massive development and exploitation.
The case of gold is peculiar. There are proven reserves of both alluvial and primary gold in the schist belt of Nigeria located in the south-western part of the country. The deposits are mainly alluvial and are currently being exploited on a small scale mainly by illegal miners. Another hard to decipher case is that of bitumen deposits in Ilaje area of Ondo State. The occurrence of bitumen deposits in Nigeria is indicated at about 42 billion tonnes; almost twice the amount of existing reserves of crude petroleum. Analytical results suggest that this potential resource can be used directly as an asphalt binder. Sadly, most bitumen used for road construction in Nigeria is currently imported.

The coal Nigerian coal mining is long comatose. Enugu area in the South East is noted for huge deposits of coal, but suddenly, the government looks away from further exploration and development of the critical source of revenue. The Nigerian coal is one of the most bituminous in the world owing to its low sulphur and ash content and therefore the most environment-friendly. There are nearly 3 billion tonnes of indicated reserves in 17 identified coal fields and over 600 million tonnes of proven reserves.

The national annual demand for table salt, caustic soda, chlorine, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide exceeds one million tonnes. A colossal amount of money is expended annually to import these chemicals by chemical and processing companies including tanneries and those in food and beverages, paper and pulp, bottling and oil sector. There are salt springs at Awe (Plateau State), Abakaliki and Uburu (Ebonyi State), while rock salt is available in Benue State. A total reserve of 1.5 million tonnes has been indicated, and further investigations are now being carried out by Government.

Gemstones mining has boomed in various parts of Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi states for years. Some of these gemstones include sapphire, ruby, aquamarine, emerald, tourmaline, topaz, garnet, amethyst; zircon, and flourspar which are among the world’s best.

An estimated reserve of more than 3 billion tonnes of good kaolinitic clay has been identified in many localities in Nigeria, especially in Osun and Ondo States.
But most unfortunately, China is said to already controls a huge chunk of these solid minerals. And most of their activities are not known officially to the Nigerian government. In Kaduna, a state in north western Nigeria, China’s Ming Xin Mineral Separation Nig Ltd. (MXMS) has been selected to build the country’s first lithium-processing plant, with a plan to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

The Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency disclosed that would be built on 9.3 hectares of land. Khalil Nur Khalil, the executive secretary of the state’s investment promotion agency, told Rest of World that the plant is a “game changer,” which he believes will lay the foundation for Nigeria’s ambitions to build “battery factories” and produce “EVs in Kaduna.”
This comes more than five months after the Nigerian government claimed it had rejected Tesla’s proposal to purchase raw lithium from the country.
An Official of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, told Rest of World that Tesla’s proposal was rejected because it did not align with the country’s new mining policies.

“Our new mining policy demands that you add some value to raw mineral ores, including lithium, before you export to create jobs and build industries,” he was quoted as saying. “They don’t have to turn ores into finished goods. We are only asking them to add some value before exporting.”
Also, In January, Elon Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, said he sees the company’s biggest competition coming from China. That same month, Tesla even slashed the prices of its cars in China for the second time since September last year.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China already controls 60% of the world’s lithium processing and is exploring new frontiers, like Nigeria, to expand its dominance. Kaduna is one of several Nigerian states with lithium deposits. At least seven other states in the country are confirmed to have the mineral — essential in the manufacturing of EV batteries — in commercial quantities.
www.focusmagazineonline.com recalled that the Nigerian government has relied significantly on funding from China for several landmark projects, including the Abuja Light Rail project, planned terminal expansions at four major airports, and the National Public Security Communications System project. According to Nigeria’s debt management office, Chinese loans represented 3.94% of the country’s total public debt as of March 2020.

Despite increasing Chinese interest in infrastructure financing and construction, the U.S. is still one of Nigeria’s top five sources of imported capital. In 2021, Nigeria received over $2.2 billion from the U.K., over $677 million from the U.S., and $10 million from China, official records from the National Bureau of Statistics show.
Analysis from the IEA shows that to reach net zero emissions by 2050, about 2 billion EVs and hybrids need to be produced and used. However, global lithium reserves can only make about 2.5 billion EVs. This means that lithium will continue to be a valued, in-demand mineral, given that it has alternative uses apart from making EV batteries. It is used to make batteries for laptops, phones, and digital cameras and is also essential in the manufacturing of planes and trains.

There are optimism that the newly discovered high-grade lithium deposits have the potential to boost Nigerian economy. Nigeria recently discovered large deposits of lithium, an essential component for building batteries for electric cars, laptops and mobile devices. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, showed interest in signing a trade partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria for the mining of lithium but Nigeria’s former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, rejected the offer. The minister stated that Nigeria would only deal with Tesla if the company agreed to build its battery-making factories in Nigeria.

The price of lithium has risen from $6,000 per tonne in 2020 to $78,000 per tonne in 2022, and it is expected to be the most valuable mineral on earth by 2040. Additionally, Nigeria’s lithium is high-grade. The director-general of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, Dr Abdulrazaq Garba stated that: “the standard worldwide for even exploration and mining starts from 0.4 per cent lithium oxide but when we started exploration and mining, we saw one per cent up to 13 per cent lithium oxide content”.
Nigeria, the Africa’s largest economy could eventually tap into the global lithium market, valued at over $37 billion as Thor Explorations Ltd has said initial drilling results from its search for lithium have returned “significant” intersections of mineralised pegmatites.

“We are extremely encouraged by the first set of results from our initial drilling campaign, which was designed to confirm the development of lithium-bearing minerals within pegmatite bodies that occur within our permit areas,” Segun Lawson, president and CEO, said.
“An initial drilling programme was being undertaken on one of the company’s prospects located in the West Oyo Project Area to confirm and delineate lithium-bearing mineralisation, such as spodumene and lepidolite, at depth.

“This is the first area of our portfolio we have drilled and we are looking forward to both continuing the drill program on this prospect and extending the drilling over the other lithium-bearing pegmatites within our portfolio in Oyo State,” said Lawson.
The company, Thor Explorations, is a Canadian mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties located in Nigeria, Senegal and Burkina Faso. It holds a 100 percent interest in the Segilola Gold Project located in Osun State.

It has secured over 600 square kilometres (km2) of granted tenure in Nigeria that form Oyo State, Kwara State and Ekiti State Lithium Project Areas. The Oyo State Project Area encompasses what Thor considers to be Nigeria’s most significant lithium pegmatite occurrence, which is currently being exploited by small-scale artisanal mining of lithium-bearing minerals.
The Oyo State Lithium Project comprises approximately 38km2 of exploration tenure that is located towards the westernmost border of Nigeria and within 200 kilometres of the commercial capital of Lagos.

The company also has deep interests in gold mining operations in Nigeria.
Amidst all these, Alake still exudes so much confidence and optimism. He believed he can pull the rugs off the feet of the jackals that have literally infested all the mining fields in the country.
He said: “Now if you all can sit down to analyse the global trend of economic development, you would note that the hydrocarbon that is the oil is fading out and the world is moving towards alternatives like gas, electric cars, and the rest. So what is the next economic growth factor? It is solid mineral.

He went further: “Given the nature of this sector to our economic growth and vitality of this country which is dear to the heart of Mr President, it’s just very apt and proper for him to send me here because he knows and trusts that I have a demonstrable sense of responsibility and courage to drive the agenda, that is why I am here. We are going to drive that agenda with the full cooperation of everyone,” he added.
Alake then assured Nigerians of bountiful results from his activities in the ministry. He believes this is not about the portfolio or ministry that he is assigned to, but the results that he will yield for Nigerians.

He stated: “In my world, where I come from, you know you are in the civil service and have your rules and regulations but in my world, there are no strictures, I have been in the civil service as a commissioner before. My modus operandi is results, I really don’t care how you get me the results as long as you use legitimate means to get the result.

“I am going to set an agenda with focus and objectives, we would get the results. Now we are not going to be allowing civil service structures and strictures to stifle us from creativity and flourishing, what we need is attitudinal change.”

www.focusmagazineonline.com (August 2023)