The global energy transition is accelerating demand for critical minerals. These resources underpin clean energy technologies and modern industrial systems, including electric vehicles, battery storage, smartphones, computers, and power infrastructure. As a result, critical minerals have become central to economic competitiveness, energy security, and geopolitical strategy.
Nigeria possesses significant deposits of critical minerals, including lithium, tantalum, tin, zinc, lead, barite, and rare earth elements. However, after years of policy reforms and growing private-sector participation, current discussions around Nigeria’s mining sector have become disproportionately focused on lithium.
Lithium is undeniably important. Often referred to as “white gold,” it is a key component of battery technologies and plays a vital role in the global energy transition. Yet an overwhelming focus on lithium risks overshadowing other strategic minerals in which Nigeria already holds established positions in global supply chains.
The data underscore this point. In 2023, Nigeria produced approximately 930 tonnes of lithium, accounting for about 3 percent of Africa’s production. By 2025, output had risen to an estimated 1,000 tonnes. In contrast, Nigeria supplied approximately 19 percent of global tantalum production in the same period. Production of rare earth minerals also increased significantly, from 30 tonnes in 2020 to approximately 4,000 tonnes by 2024. Similar growth trends have been recorded for tin, lead, zinc, niobium, zircon, feldspar, and fluorspar.
The current emphasis on lithium reflects a broader challenge in Nigeria’s approach to natural resource development. Historically, the discovery and commercialisation of crude oil shifted attention away from other productive sectors, particularly agriculture and mining. Today, the rush toward lithium risks repeating a similar pattern by concentrating policy attention and investment on a single commodity at the expense of a diversified minerals strategy.
The lithium boom has also exposed weaknesses in Nigeria’s mineral governance framework, particularly in data collection and reporting. Significant discrepancies exist between production and export figures reported by domestic institutions and international databases. Comparisons between the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Solid Minerals Audit Reports and datasets from the United Nations Comtrade Database, the World Mining Data (WMD), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reveal substantial inconsistencies.
These data gaps undermine investor confidence, distort policy planning, and hinder effective sector management.
While developing Nigeria’s lithium resources remains important, greater strategic attention should be directed toward minerals where the country enjoys established comparative advantages, particularly tantalum, tin, niobium, lead, and zinc and recently, rare earth elements. A diversified approach would reduce exposure to commodity-specific risks, including price volatility, technological shifts in battery chemistry, geopolitical trade restrictions, and changing production economics. Recent declines in lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices illustrate the risks of overreliance on a single mineral.
To maximise the value of its mineral endowment, Nigeria should prioritise downstream processing and refining capabilities. Capturing greater value within the country will require sustained investments in energy infrastructure, transportation networks, and industrial facilities. Policy measures such as targeted tax incentives, a flexible royalty regime linked to global commodity prices, and stronger participation by state and local governments could further enhance sector competitiveness.
Nigeria also requires an integrated national critical minerals strategy that extends beyond lithium. Such a strategy should align mineral development with broader objectives for industrialisation, economic diversification, and national security.
Although mining remains under federal jurisdiction, effective development of the sector will require stronger coordination among federal, state, and local governments.
Standardised systems for reporting production volumes from large-scale, small-scale, and artisanal mining operations should be established and enforced. In addition, the Nigeria Customs Service should receive specialised training to improve the identification, classification, and reporting of mineral exports. Existing discrepancies between customs records and international trade databases highlight the need for significant improvements in export reporting and monitoring.
The global race for critical minerals has exposed longstanding structural challenges within Nigeria’s mining sector. Weak data systems, limited exploration activities, regulatory gaps, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and inconsistent implementation of reforms continue to constrain growth and investment.
Addressing these challenges will require stronger institutions, improved regulatory certainty, reduced administrative barriers, and consistent policy execution. Full implementation of recommendations contained in the Nigeria Economic Summit Group’s policy brief, Transforming Nigeria’s Mining Industry, would provide a practical framework for sector reform.
Nigeria’s opportunity in the critical mineral’s economy extends far beyond lithium. By adopting a diversified, data-driven, and value addition-focused strategy, the country can strengthen its position in global supply chains, attract long-term investment, and unlock the full economic potential of its mineral resources.
Mohammed (Ph.D.) is a Critical Minerals, Supply Chain Risk Analysis, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment expert.
