By Patience Chat Moses
As the world pivots towards a clean energy future, the immense use of critical minerals is becoming clear. These are not your everyday rocks; they are the fundamental building blocks of modern energy technologies and the broader economy. From the electric vehicles zooming down our highways to the wind turbines generating power, these minerals are powering energy progress.
Critical minerals are indispensable for today’s energy landscape. For instance, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite are the backbone of high-performance batteries, a key component of the electric vehicle revolution and renewable energy storage.
Meanwhile, rare earth elements, the source of contention between China and the United States for supply dominance, are vital for the powerful permanent magnets used in wind turbines and EV motors.
And we can’t forget about copper and aluminium. Reports show that the demand for these two is skyrocketing as they are the cornerstone of electricity networks. As global demand for these materials continues to surge, so does their strategic importance, making their secure and resilient supply a top priority for policymakers worldwide, including Nigeria.
Recycling: A Path to Sustainability and Security
According to the IEA critical minerals report for 2025, beyond mining, recycling offers a powerful solution to reduce the strain on critical mineral supply chains. Analysis in the report shows that scaling up recycling could reduce the need for new mining by 25% to 40% by mid-century. For Nigeria, which is building its industrial base, investing in recycling infrastructure is not just an environmental choice; it’s a strategic one.
By establishing facilities to recycle minerals from old batteries, electronics, and other technologies, Nigeria can create a circular economy, ensuring that these valuable materials remain in use. This would not only reduce the environmental impact of mining but also enhance the country’s resource security and economic resilience.
Although the country is taking steps towards developing its critical minerals sector, in-depth findings reveal that there is no clear evidence of a fully operational critical minerals recycling centre in the country yet. However, several initiatives and investments suggest a growing focus on this area.
Nigeria recently secured a United Nations-backed study to develop a roadmap for its critical minerals value chain, spanning extraction to beneficiation. Also, there is the $400 million Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) initiative that has been launched to establish Africa’s largest rare earth and critical minerals processing plant in Nasarawa State.
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council is working on mapping strategic and critical raw materials in Nigeria, which could lay the groundwork for future recycling initiatives. Companies like Lohum Cleantech, an Indian firm, are leading the way in critical minerals recycling, particularly lithium-ion battery recycling, which could potentially serve as a model or partner for Nigeria’s own recycling efforts.
With Nigeria coming on board, the major challenge, as highlighted by IEA, which is the increasing concentration of critical mineral markets, can be reduced. The IEA’s 2024 report reveals a striking statistic: for key minerals like copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, the top three refining nations now control an average of 86% of the market, a jump from 82% in 2020. This concentration is particularly acute, with almost all new supply growth coming from a single dominant player for each mineral; Indonesia for nickel and China for the rest.
Despite policymakers’ growing awareness of these risks, current investment trends suggest a minimal shift over the next decade. The average market share of the top three suppliers is projected to barely decline, returning to 2020 concentration levels. This underscores the urgency for nations like Nigeria to not only secure their supply chains but also to explore their own domestic potential.
Nigeria is endowed with a vast, largely untapped wealth of solid minerals, many of which are critical to the global energy transition. The country has significant deposits of key critical minerals, including lithium, graphite, and rare earth elements, among others. A recent discovery of high-grade lithium in Nasarawa State, for example, has positioned Nigeria to become a significant player in the global lithium market. Thus, harnessing these resources presents a golden opportunity for Nigeria.
Overall, critical minerals are the bedrock of the global energy transition. While the world faces challenges of supply concentration, Nigeria is uniquely positioned to turn this challenge into an opportunity. By strategically developing its abundant mineral resources and embracing recycling, Nigeria can secure its place as a key player in the clean energy future.