UK-based Jupiter Lithium Ltd (“Jupiter Lithium”), owner of Basin Mining Ltd and Range Mining Ltd has announced a partnership with American Resources Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary, ReElement Technologies Corporation (“ReElement”), to develop Nigeria’s first large-scale lithium deposit, spanning 442 square kilometers of high-quality, lithium-rich terrain located in Kaduna State.
Jupiter’s principal partner, Mohammed Alfa, in a statement, said the Jupiter Critical Minerals Project is poised to become a transformative project for Nigeria, with the potential to establish the country as a regional hub for lithium mining and downstream battery and electric vehicle manufacturing.
He added that the project is expected to develop significant production capacity, supporting a robust local industry as Jupiter Lithium is focused on expanding its operations from the current contract mining to large-scale owner operations to include a spodumene concentrator facility to produce an initial 55,000 tons of 6% lithium spodumene concentrate annually and the first concentrate production from the plant is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, ramping up 167,000 tons within two years.
Pursuant to the MOU, ReElement is designed for the construction of its lithium and critical mineral refinery to refine spodumene concentrate into high-purity, battery-grade lithium carbonate and other critical minerals produced.
Chief executive officer of ReElement Technologies, Mark Jensen, explained that the partnership would catalyze advanced manufacturing in the region with local partners.
He said ReElement has a technology that is environmentally safer, more cost efficient and able to be deployed throughout the world and this enables partnering nations to maximise the value of their natural resources while advancing job creation through expanded and innovative industrialisation.
He said: “We are excited to sign our first large-scale spodumene supplier partnership to be refined in the region.
“The Jupiter team and project are absolutely world class, and we believe together we can quickly unlock the potential to be one of the largest lithium projects worldwide that can be produced in the lowest quartile of costs.”
Chairman of Jupiter Lithium Ltd, Stephen Davis noted that, “This remarkable discovery caps two decades of work in understanding Nigeria’s minerals endowment and the scale of the Jupiter lithium discovery has the potential to provide the momentum required to commence Nigeria’s transition from a reliance on oil and gas to clean, solid energy.
“The downstream processing of the ore to concentrate and carbonate in-region opens the door to a new phase in the development of Nigeria’s energy and mining sector and numerous economic opportunities.”
