At an open-cast mine, Abdullahi Ibrahim Danjija meticulously chisels away at a lump of white rock before filling a sack with the bits that break from the walls.
In the course of a day’s labor, he fills three 50-kilo bags, earning N150,000 ($100), which is about double the monthly minimum wage in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where more than one in every two people live in poverty.
Three years ago, the 31-year-old miner traveled down from Kano in the north, tempted by the prospect of making a fortune by helping to establish the artisanal lithium mining sector in Nasarawa, the central state.
There, like in other Nigerian states, the opportunity to profit from a worldwide explosion in demand for lithium, a critical metal in the manufacturing of electric batteries and mobile phones, is just too attractive to miss.
Another set of workers at Gidan Kwano, not far from where Danjija was working, refused to allow AFP reporters access to their mine.
Several families, including women and children, were busily placing explosives to cut into the base of their handicraft site.
While they are proud of their accomplishment, having not obtained a mining permission, they are hesitant to publicize its presence.
Much of Nigeria’s mining activity is small-scale, artisanal, and frequently illegal.
Even those who have a permission use the area without following any safety or environmental rules.
Along Nasarawa’s main road, there are rows of abandoned buildings that serve as warehouses for miners and their middlemen to sift and clean rock deposits in order to manufacture concentrated lithium for consumers.
One such merchant, Matthew Danbala, bent down and banged bits of rock together. A dozen youngsters sat around him, mirroring his actions.
The Nigerian government is attempting to attract international investment as it pushes “new oil” in Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil producer.
The nation vows war on illicit miners on a regular basis and has made several arrests, but it has failed to stem the flood of mining aspirants who view lithium as their ticket to riches.
According to Nigerian media, Nigeria now wants international investors to establish processing factories on its land, a condition that would have discouraged billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk from investing.
Paris and Abuja did sign a memorandum of understanding at the end of 2024 to carry out mining projects, particularly lithium.
