FG Launches Gold Refinery and Progresses $600m Lithium Plant Development.

The Federal Government has announced the start of operations at a high-purity gold refining plant in Lagos, alongside three additional gold refineries at various stages of development across the country, and a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State ready for commissioning. Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made the disclosure on Tuesday, highlighting that these projects are tangible results of the government’s value-addition policy in the mining sector. According to Alake, the initiatives are positioning Nigeria as a leading minerals hub in Africa and a strategic global partner in critical minerals for the green energy transition. The announcement came during a meeting between Alake and Saudi Arabian Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, ahead of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. The discussion focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in solid minerals development and translating prior talks into actionable outcomes. Alake emphasized that the operational Lagos refinery and the upcoming lithium processing facility demonstrate the government’s commitment to moving Nigeria from exporting raw minerals to domestic processing and beneficiation. “Nigeria’s value-addition policy is producing tangible results, with a high-purity gold refinery now operational in Lagos, three other gold refineries under development, and a $600 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State ready for commissioning,” the minister stated. He further highlighted Nigeria’s eagerness to deepen its partnership with Saudi Arabia by leveraging comparative advantages in capacity building, training of mining professionals, technology transfer, and exploration. “There are areas where Saudi Arabia excels and others where Nigeria has strengths. We aim to structure agreements that enable meaningful and constructive engagement, especially in capacity building, professional training, technology transfer, and exploration,” Alake said. The minister also underscored Nigeria’s vast landmass and abundance of critical minerals and rare earth elements vital to the global economy. He stressed that the Future Minerals Forum should serve as a platform to establish partnerships based on fairness, equity, and mutual benefit. Recalling follow-up efforts after the 2025 forum, Alake noted that a joint working group of Nigerian and Saudi officials had been active over the past year and would submit its report before the end of the current forum. Key areas for collaboration include mineral traceability, Environmental, Social and Governance standards, and mine-pit remediation, with traceability highlighted as crucial for boosting investor confidence. Minister Al-Khorayef reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s longstanding partnership with Nigeria and supported the development of practical, actionable agreements on solid minerals. He proposed that the working group draft a Memorandum of Understanding based on previous discussions for potential signing during the conference and encouraged Nigeria to use the forum to showcase investment opportunities in its mining sector while promoting advanced technologies across Africa. In recent years, Nigeria has intensified reforms in the mining sector, targeting illegal mining, attracting investment through incentives and improved regulation, and promoting local processing of solid minerals. Lithium, gold, and other critical minerals are central to the government’s plans to diversify the economy and support global energy transition value chains amid growing demand for battery and clean-energy resources.