The Kaduna State government has established a Lithium processing plant, the first of its kind in Nigeria.

The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Abubakar Buba, disclosed this at the quarterly ministerial press briefing held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.

He said the plant, located at Kangimi village along the Kaduna-Jos road, has a capacity of producing more than 30,000 tonnes of lithium per day.

The commissioner said the state government is repositioning the solid minerals sector to generate more revenue, create jobs and check the activities of illegal miners.

According to him, the government has engaged Core International Marketing and Management Ltd to produce a Mining Development Roadmap for the state.

Buba added that in the last two quarters of 2024, the government raked in N30 million from the mining sector, adding that the revenue projection is higher in 2025.

He said Kaduna has more than 70 solid minerals, including Lithium, Gold, Tin, Coltan, Wolframite, Titanium and Iron, adding that the Kaduna Mining Development Company has acquired 18 additional mineral titles.

The commissioner said: ?There is tremendous reduction in the illegal mining operation in the state which is as a result of improved surveillance and the Governor Uba Sani?s renewed thinking.

??Out of the governor?s magnanimity, he graciously agreed that we should form cooperative societies of these illegal miners, so that at the end of the day, they will still be useful to the society.

??They will serve as the foot soldiers for any investor that is coming, because they are the indigenes and they know the terrain better than each and every one of us.?

Speaking on environment and pollution control, the commissioner said the state government has developed a policy on climate change.

He said Kaduna is the first sub national to produce both the policy and position statement on climate change.

?A lot of states have done the policy document, but Kaduna State is the first to come out with the two.

??We have trained and empowered 500 youths and women on briquette making in collaboration with Kaduna Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project.

??In this part of the world, our people normally use firewood as a source of energy for cooking.

?We thought that before we ban the use of firewood for cooking and charcoal making, we need to provide an alternative to the people.

?That is the reason why the state government, in collaboration with ACReSAL, trained over 500 women and youths on how to make briquettes,? he said.

The commissioner also said the state government has distributed clean cooking stoves to 400 women and youths in collaboration with Women?s Initiative on Sustainable Environment (WISE), a non-governmental organisation.

He said this will help in reducing the emission of smoke that goes to the atmosphere, which equally distorts the ozone layer and exposes humanity to more risk.

The commissioner commended efforts of the governor, which has resulted in the inclusion of Kaduna State into the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas in Nigeria (HYPPADEC). (THISDAY)

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