*Photo R-L: Dr Dele Alake and Prince Jidayi Ijudigal*
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake has pledged Federal Government’s support for a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) initiative to establish Africa’s largest rare earth and critical minerals processing plant, driven by a $400 million investment from Hasetins Commodities Ltd in Nasarawa State.
Dr Alake gave the commitment during a visit by officials of the company led by its Managing Director and CEO, Prince Jidayi Ijudigal.
Hasetins Commodities Limited is a Nigerian company specializing in the production of critical metals, including rare earth metals and Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), essential for high-tech applications and defense systems.
The initiative is expected to create over 10,000 jobs and enhance local beneficiation by pre-separating metals, reduce reliance on foreign processing,
provide income for artisanal miners and supporting community development through training and protective equipment provision.
A visibly exited Dr Alake said
“Our appreciation goes to Prince Jidayi and his team for their foresight and alignment with President Tinubu’s vision for value addition and economic diversification.
“Hasetins hopes to add 12,000 metric tonnes to its current 6,000 metric tonnes installed capacity as preparations for the forthcoming groundbreaking of the additional facility gathers momentum.”
“I applaud the company for its strategic foresight and patriotic investment in a 400 million dollars rare earth metals plant.
“The Federal Government is fully committed to this project. We will provide all necessary institutional support because initiatives like this bring us closer to our long-term national objectives.”
Prince Jidayi Ijudigal in his remarks commended Nigerian mining sector reforms. He said the introduction of mining marshals and streamlined licensing processes are boosting investor confidence.
Hasetins Commodities Ltd processing plant will certainly be a major game changer in the Nigerian Solid Minerals sector because of the importance of rare earth and critical minerals.
Rare earth metals, also known as rare earth elements (REEs), are a group of 17 chemically similar elements in the periodic table, including the 15 lanthanides (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium), plus scandium and yttrium.
Despite their name, most are relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust, but they are rarely found in concentrated deposits, making extraction and processing challenging and costly.
REEs are critical for modern technologies, including smartphones, electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, magnets, LED lights, medical imaging, and defense systems (e.g., jet engines, missile guidance).
China currently dominates production of REEs, accounting for 60-70% of global supply, with significant influence over processing (up to 90%). Other producers include Australia, the U.S., and Myanmar. Nigeria will join the elite league when the Hasetins Commodities’ $400 million rare earth processing plant in Nasarawa State fully becomes operational.
