Olamilekan Adegbite, minister of mines and steel development, has acknowledged that he turned down Tesla’s offer to import raw materials from Nigeria.
Adegbite disclosed that the manufacturer of electric vehicles had volunteered to import lithium, one of the ingredients in an electric vehicle battery, from Nigeria.
Speaking at a summit titled, “Leveraging Future Minerals for Sustainable Development”, Adegbite said a Tesla representative approached him at a summit in Saudi Arabia and showed interest in getting Lithium from Nigeria but he rejected the bid and asked Tesla to set up battery industry in Nigeria.
Adegbite noted that the establishment of the battery sector would enhance the value chain of mineral exploration in Nigeria. He also stated that by 2040, the demand for minerals from electric vehicles and battery storage is expected to increase by a factor of 10 to 30.
He claims that during the next two decades, it is predicted that the demand for energy minerals will be accounted for by electric vehicles and battery storage, which has led to an increase in the demand for battery materials.
He said;
“Nigeria is richly endowed with critical minerals. Lithium and tantalum are found in parts of the extensive pegmatite belts of Nigeria.”
He also said that many governments are vigorously launching policies and strategic models to assure the accelerated development of the crucial energy minerals. Future minerals are the metallic or non-metallic materials necessary for the growth and functioning of current technologies, he said.
Adegbite stated that Australia is also thinking about investment packages to encourage exploration. He remembered that the U.S. Senate had enacted an act with incentives for discovering essential minerals in July.
The Minister added that in order to increase its vital mineral reserves, China increased its imports from emerging countries.
The urgent need to ensure a low-carbon future, he continued, is driving up demand for key minerals, and “countries are increasingly relying on rare earth elements and critical minerals to support their climate obligations.”
He stated that renewable sources of energy offer an alternative to the energy transition economy and that the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change emphasized the need to reduce the use of non-renewable components in energy generation.
Adegbite said;
“The consequence of this major shift is a high demand for critical minerals for use in climate-friendly technologies. The World Bank has estimated the demand for these minerals to triple by 2040. Undoubtedly, the deployment of critical minerals for a clean energy transition will remain significantly intensive for a long time.”
