Fox News Digital could not reach Tesla or the Nigerian government for comment, but according to local reporting, the bid for lithium mining rights was denied after Adegbite said the electric car company would need to also establish a battery plant in Nigeria.
China is the world’s third-largest producer of lithium, contributing 13% of global production in 2021, behind Australia’s lion share of 52% and Chile’s 25%.Western investors have long looked to Nigeria and other nations across Africa rich in minerals as affordable locations to mine and export natural resources.
In a January tweet, the Nigerian mining ministry said "Nigeria has become a major location for investors" because it "cost[s] about $400 to mine an ounce of the minerals in Nigeria" while "in mature jurisdictions, it may cost about $1,200." Artisanal miners collect gravel from the Lukushi River as they search for cassiterite on Feb. 17, 2022, in Manono, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Central Africa nation is rich with lithium, an essential mineral for electric car batteries.
"There's political instability, the electricity grid is bad and unreliable, the conditions are not ideal to build a kind of brick-and-mortar processing facility," he added. "The Chinese do not view Nigeria, or other parts of Africa, as risky as Washington does." "We are not worried about investing in Nigeria today because Nigeria today was China in the 1980s," he added.