Nigerian firm in deal to ship lithium to U.S. for processing

Continental Lithium, a Nigerian lithium mining and trading company, says it has entered into an agreement with ReElement Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of American Resources Corporation (AREC), to ship lithium spodumene ore from Nigeria to U.S. for processing.

Why this matters

Lithium is a metal in high demand by manufacturing industries as the world moves towards energy transition, from fossil fuel to cleaner sources. It has been dubbed the new oil.

By 2030, batteries, used for powering electric vehicles, homes and electronics, are expected to account for 95% of lithium demand. High-grade lithium has been discovered in Nigeria.

– A key point to note

Last August, minister of mines and steel development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said the country had rejected Tesla Inc’s request to mine lithium, unless the company were to situate a battery-making factory in the West African nation. It is not clear how much value the shipment to U.S. will bring to Nigeria.

Continental Lithium owns 26 minerals exploration licenses covering 61,500 hectares in Nigeria, 15 of which cover 45,900 hectares for lithium and other pegmatite-hosted mineralization of tin, tantalum, niobium and gemstones. In addition, the Company’s exploration licenses are prospective for columbite, zircon sand, monazite, tantalite and other rare earth metals.

Founded in 2017, Continental Lithium began small-scale mining in collaboration with artisanal miners in Nigeria in 2018. The company said over the last five years, its underlying assets have produced approximately 15,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate.

– Learn more

The shipments from Nigeria will be sent to ReElement’s facility at Noblesville, Indiana, where they will be refined into high-purity lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide. They companies said they intend to work towards jointly developing a lithium refinement facility in Nigeria later.

The initial trials will consist of 28 metric ton increments of 5% to 8% grade lithium spodumene concentrate. ReElement will sell the purified lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide into the U.S. battery manufacturing marketplace.

“Over the last five years, the underlying assets acquired by Continental Lithium produced approximately 15,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate from surface artisanal mining,” said Lanre Afebuameh, founder and chief executive officer of Continental Lithium.

“We are currently one of the largest exporters of lithium in Nigeria. Now, as we partner with American Resources and ReElement Technologies, we will have the opportunity to begin exporting to the U.S. and Europe and potentially partner in building the first lithium refining facility in Nigeria.”

Mark Jensen, CEO of American Resources Corporation, said, “We are pleased to announce our partnership with the Continental Lithium team to unlock the value of our technology for the benefit of our shareholders and the local communities in Nigeria where Continental Lithium operates, while also supplying high-purity lithium products to the U.S. market. Due to the lack of flexibility of existing processing technologies, the world today is forced to transport lithium spodumene in its raw form, which is very expensive and inefficient.”