Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has cautioned the Federal Government to approach its pursuit of industrial-scale lithium mining with a deep sense of environmental accountability and protection of local livelihoods.
The advice comes in the wake of government’s commissioning of its first lithium processing plant in Nassarawa State.
During a recent meeting with Chinese investors who built the plant, President Bola Tinubu was quoted as commending their efforts and investments including urging them to take advantage of the country’s huge market and cheap labour .
The Nassarawa lithium plant constructed by the Chinese firm, Avatar Energy Materials Company Limited, boasts a production capacity of 4,000 metric tonnes daily. Another Chinese firm, Canmax Technologies, has pledged to invest over $200m in constructing another lithium processing plant in the state.
