Nigeria’s Rare earths and other Minerals

By Salisu Nainna Dambatta

A Rare earth elements ores processing plant on which USD 400 million dollars is being invested is springing up in Nasarawa state.

A news item in most Nigerian outlets on November 21, 2025 said, “Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has performed the groundbreaking for the construction of a $400 million rare earth and critical metals processing plant.”

The Nasarawa state Government and the governor in person were pleased that the processing plant and its mining arm can create up to 10,000 direct jobs and hundreds more, indirectly.

The manner in which the Nasarawa state rare earth mining and processing is organised  contrasts sharply with the chaotic and sad situation in Zamfara state where illegal mining has fueled insecurity and delivered little benefits to the state government,  or by extension, Nigeria.

The Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development should devise ways to ensure that mining gold, other precious metals and minerals in Zamfara state is mainstreamed and done in a formal way. Doing so will end or minimise the insecurity there, drastically reduce illegal mining, create jobs and net in revenue  for the federation account and  derivation share for Zamfara state.

The different approach to  mining  rare earth in Nasarawa state and mining gold and over 20 other minerals in Zamfara state, is probably informed by what rare earth is and the great profits it yields for those who know what it is.

Those who knew what  the 17 oxides of rare earth elements are and their value described them  in a post on the website of the United States Department of Energy, “Rare earth elements (REEs), which comprise of only 17 elements from the entire periodic table, play a critical role to our national security, energy independence, environmental future, and economic growth. Many advanced technologies have components made of REEs such as magnets, batteries, phosphors, and catalysts.”

What are the economic importance of rare earth elements now about to be mined and processed in my own country, Nigeria?

The economic importance of rare earth elements were listed thus: “Rare Earth Elements are important components in over 200 products, spanning applications in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, defence systems, and many more. Demand for REEs is expected to rise with a focus on renewable energy, electric vehicles, and niche sectors like communications and nuclear energy.”

An entry on livescience.com site says, “Rare earth minerals are just as crucial for military applications, such as lasers, radar, missile-guidance systems, satellites and aircraft electronics.”

Indeed, the screen of the phone or computer on which you are reading this item and a majority of the components inside the devices, were made with contributions from some of the 17 refined REEs.

Below is the list of the 17 REEs  listed at a site rareearths.com: cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, and the eponymous lanthanum as well as the two elements scandium and yttrium which are also referred to as “rare earths.”

Each of the 17 REEs can be technically manipulated to fetch several other products from its own individual composition. Each of them is highly priced. The costliest of such products from one of the elements, Dy-Iron Alloy, was exchanged for USD$166,272.22  per metric ton on the Shanghai Metal Market on December 11, 2025 according an entry on metal.com site.

Again, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development should go beyond just licensing mining and processing to sub products by  working with other government agencies to develop the skilled personnel to turn the raw oxides into final producs in Nigeria. This will bring maximum benefits to our country.

With significant reserves of lithium, rare earth elements, and other valuable minerals like zinc and beryllium, Nigeria is positioned to become a key player in the global mineral supply chain.

A booklet of the inventory of solid minerals in Nigeria I read as Personal Assistant to Musa Gwadabe when he was the Minister of Solid Minerals Development contained a huge variety of commercial quantity and high grade much sought-after minerals under our soil. A mining expert then told this writer that Nigeria is of the seven countries  endowed with so much mineral resources on earth. The potential wealth in minerals should be harnessed and used in financing national development.