Nigeria has commissioned a $250 million lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State, opening a new chapter in the country’s efforts to process more of its mineral resources locally rather than relying on the export of raw materials.
The Diamond New Energy facility, located in Endo Community, Nasarawa Local Government Area, was commissioned on July 2, 2026, by Vice President Kashim Shettima on behalf of President Bola Tinubu. The plant has the capacity to process 6,000 metric tonnes of lithium ore daily, equivalent to about three million tonnes annually.
The project was developed by Chinese-backed Diamond New Energy in partnership with the Nasarawa State Government, with collaboration from Chinese companies Jiuling Lithium and Canmax. The facility has been described by the Federal Government and its operators as the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa.
Brandspur Brand News reports that the project is part of a broader push to increase local value addition in Nigeria’s solid minerals industry. Rather than shipping lithium ore out of the country for further processing, the facility provides domestic processing capacity that can support a larger minerals and battery-materials supply chain.
The commissioning also comes as lithium attracts increasing attention because of its role in battery technology. The Federal Government has been promoting policies aimed at encouraging mineral processing within Nigeria, with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development making local value addition a central part of its mining reforms.
The scale of the facility is significant. At its stated daily capacity, the plant can process 6,000 metric tonnes of lithium ore, giving it an annual processing capacity of roughly three million metric tonnes.
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Officials have also linked the project to employment and wider economic activity in Nasarawa. Reports from the commissioning indicated that the company had created more than 1,000 direct jobs and over 2,000 indirect employment opportunities since operations began.
For Nigeria, the development comes amid renewed efforts to make the solid minerals sector contribute more substantially to industrialisation and economic diversification. Nasarawa is among the states with significant mineral deposits, including lithium, while the government has sought to attract investment into processing and other stages of the mining value chain.
The plant therefore represents more than an expansion of Nigeria’s lithium production capacity. Its operation places greater emphasis on what happens to minerals after they are extracted, as the country seeks to retain more processing activity and associated economic opportunities within its borders.
