The 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 the protection of local livelihoods.

The nonprofit organisation’s advice comes in the wake of the Nigerian government’s commissioning of its first and largest lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State.

During a recent meeting with Chinese investors who built the plant, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was quoted as commending their efforts and investments and urging them to take advantage of the country’s huge market and cheap labour.

The Nasarawa 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 $200 million in constructing another lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State.

“While the Nasarawa State government has secured three mining licenses to extract tin, gold and lithium, the decision-making authority over mineral resources placed as the exclusive preserve of the federal government, whose responsibility is often only felt when it comes to administering mining leases, has spelt much trouble for vulnerable communities across the country.

“These communities, who, though, are the true custodians of these minerals, are effectively locked out of important conversations that affect their cultural identities, livelihoods, and social space. Already, there have been reported incidents and ongoing issues of land ownership tussle in Nasarawa State, with foreign Chinese corporations laying claims to local lands rich in Lithium,” noted Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation.

“Interestingly, the commissioning of the lithium plant is occurring at a time when discussions critiquing the outdated nature of Nigeria’s primary mining law, its discouraging provisions for joint oversight between the federal and state governments, and its exclusion of community voices have prompted an ongoing proposal for amendment through the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (Amendment) Bill. This raises questions about the agreement between Avatar Energy and the government and what solid benefits and protection it provides for local communities, especially with the limited disclosure of the project’s environmental impact assessment details.

“Unfortunately, the president’s meeting with the Chinese investors revealed little about the royalties and benefits accruable to local communities. In fact, Mr. President’s assurances to the lithium investors of cheap labour in Nigeria present another dimension of worry.

“We are afraid this will further consolidate the ongoing trend of exploitation by foreign mining companies, who employ locals for pittances that do nothing to improve local capacities and economies,” he added.

CAPPA cautioned against the government green lighting Chinese and foreign investments without robust local control and responsibility to communities and the environment. It warned that such approvals could not only risk replicating familiar patterns of ecocide in the country but also further cement China’s efforts to monopolise the African lithium market while entrenching dangerous working environments. (The Sun)