Nigeria is emerging as a critical mineral hub. The government is cracking down on illegal operations

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s government is cracking down on illegal mining and has made dozens of arrests of unlicensed miners since April for allegedly stealing the country’s lithium, a critical mineral used in batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones and power systems.

The recent arrests come as Nigeria seeks to regulate its critical mineral mining operations, curb illegal activity and better benefit from its mineral resources. The clean energy transition, a shift away from coal, oil and gas toward renewables and batteries, has skyrocketed global demand for lithium, tin and other minerals. Illegal mines are rife in the country’s nascent industry, as corruption among regulatory officials is common and mineral deposits are located in remote areas with minimal government presence. Authorities say profits from illicit mining practices have helped arm militia groups in the county’s north.

In the most recent arrests, in mid-May, a joint team of soldiers and police carried out a raid on a remote market in Kishi, Oyo state, in the south-west of the country. Locals said the market, once known for selling agricultural products, has become a hub for the illicit trade in lithium mined in hard-to-reach areas. The three-day operation resulted in the arrest of 32 people, including two Chinese nationals, local workers and mineral traders, according to the state government and locals. Shipments of lithium were also seized.

Jimoh Bioku, a Kishi community leader, said “clandestine searches” for the mineral had been carried out in recent years at remote sites hidden in the forest by Chinese nationals before they “hired people to dig for them and turn the market into a place of transit.” point. “The community was “particularly concerned about the insecurity that generally follows illegal mining and that is why we informed the state government,” he said.

China is the dominant player in the global electric vehicle supply chain, including in Nigeria, where Chinese-owned companies mostly employ vulnerable people leaving Nigeria’s far north, ravaged by conflict and rapid desertification, to work. in mining operations throughout the country. China’s citizens and companies are often targeted for environmentally damaging practices, labor exploitation and illicit mining. There have been at least three cases of illegal mining arrests involving Chinese nationals in two months.

President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly blamed illegal mining for worsening conflicts in the north of the country and has called for help from the international community to stop the problem, which provides armed groups with the income they need to sustain themselves and arm themselves.

The Chinese embassy in Abuja did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment on the arrests and allegations of illegal operations. But in a statement last year following a Times of London report that alleged Chinese miners were bribing militants to gain access, the embassy said it “always encouraged and urged Chinese companies and nationals in Nigeria to comply with laws.” and regulations of Nigeria.”

Nigeria is emerging as a new source of lithium in Africa as the world’s largest producers, such as Australia and Chile, cannot meet growing global demand. But illegal activities thrive in Nigeria’s extractive sector, denying the government due revenue, said Emeka Okoro, whose Lagos-based firm SBM Intelligence has investigated illicit mining and terrorism financing in northern Nigeria.

And the combination of conflict and the effects of climate change, such as once fertile land rapidly turning into barren, useless sand in northern Nigeria, has produced cheap labor for the mines.

The arrests of “both Chinese nationals and Hausa youth from conflict-affected regions underscore a worrying pattern,” Okoro told the AP. “The socio-economic stress arising from the conflict and the repercussions of climate change have resulted in a vulnerable demographic desperate for survival.”

To combat resource theft that causes losses of $9 billion to the government annually, according to the country’s extractive industry transparency watchdog, the West African nation has created a “mining marshals corps” of 2,200 members at the beginning of this year.

While existing law enforcement agencies are still combating the problem, the new body is aimed at curbing “the nefarious activities of illegal miners,” said Segun Tomori, spokesperson for the Ministry of Solid Minerals.

Before the Kishi raid, the mining force arrested two trucks loaded with lithium on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, in April. Later that month, the force raided a location in Karu, Nasarawa State, near Abuja, leading to the arrest of four Chinese nationals and the seizure of tonnes of lithium. Tomori said the cases are now in court.

On April 22, a federal court in Ilorin, in the north-central region, convicted two Chinese nationals of illegal mining and sentenced them to one year in jail, albeit with the option of a fine.

Nigeria has long neglected the solid minerals sector, allowing some communities like the tin-rich city of Jos in the north-central part of the country to rely on subsistence mining for their livelihood.

For those communities where livelihoods are tied to mining, Tomori said the government is encouraging artisanal miners to form cooperatives and operate legally.

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