ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian government is cracking down on illegal mining, arresting dozens of unlicensed miners since April for allegedly stealing lithium, a key mineral used in batteries for electric cars, smartphones and power systems.
The latest arrests come as Nigeria seeks to regulate mining activities for critical minerals, curb illegal activity and better profit from its mineral resources. The shift from coal, oil and gas to renewable energy and batteries – clean energy – has caused a surge in global demand for lithium, tin and other minerals. Illegal mining is rife in Nigeria's nascent industry because regulatory corruption is widespread and deposits are in remote areas with little government intervention. Authorities say profits from illegal mining help fund weapons for militia groups in the country's north.
In the latest arrests in mid-May, a joint military and police team raided a remote market in Kisi, Oyo State, in the country's southwest. Locals say the market, once known for selling agricultural produce, has become a hub for the illegal trade of lithium mined in the hard-to-reach area. Thirty-two people were arrested in a three-day operation, including two Chinese nationals, local workers and mineral traders, according to the state government and locals. Large quantities of lithium were also seized.
Kisi leader Jimoh Bioku said the Chinese had been “undercover” for minerals in remote areas hidden in the bush over the past few years, but then “they hired people to mine and turned the market into a transit point.” “The community is particularly concerned about the insecurity that comes with illegal mining, which is why we notified the state government,” he said.
China is a major player in the global EV supply chain, including in Nigeria, where Chinese-owned companies employ mostly vulnerable people from Nigeria's far north, a country ravaged by conflict and rapid desertification, to work in the country's mining operations. Chinese nationals and companies are frequently in the spotlight for environmental vandalism, exploitative labor, and illegal mining. In the past two months, there have been at least three arrests involving Chinese nationals for illegal mining.
President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly blamed illegal mining for the worsening conflict in the north of the country and called for international help to stop the problem which provides militant groups with the revenue they need to survive and arm themselves.
The Chinese Embassy in Abuja did not respond to AP's request for comment on the arrests and allegations of illegal operations. But in a statement last year after The Times of London reported that Chinese miners were bribing militants to gain access to the mines, the embassy said it had “always encouraged and urged Chinese companies and nationals in Nigeria to abide by Nigerian laws and regulations.”
Nigeria has emerged as a new source of lithium supply in Africa as the world's biggest producers, such as Australia and Chile, are unable to meet rising global demand. But illegal activities are rife in Nigeria's mining sector and it doesn't provide legitimate revenue to the government, said Emeka Okoro of the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence, who has investigated illegal mining and terrorism financing in northern Nigeria.
And in northern Nigeria, the effects of conflict and climate change are combining to create a cheap labor pool for mining sites, with once-fertile land rapidly turning into useless dry sand.
“The arrests of Chinese nationals and ethnic Hausa boys from conflict zones highlight a worrying trend,” Okoro told The Associated Press. “Socio-economic tensions arising from conflict and the effects of climate change are creating vulnerable populations desperate for survival.”
The West African country established a 2,200-man “mine security force” earlier this year to combat resource theft, which the Nigerian extractive industry transparency watchdog says costs the government $9 billion a year.
Existing law enforcement agencies are still battling the problem, but the new unit is focused on cracking down on “the nefarious activities of illegal miners,” said Segun Tomori, a spokesman for the minerals ministry.
Prior to the Kisi raid, mining units seized two trucks loaded with lithium outside the capital, Abuja, in April. Later that month, mining units raided a site in Karu, Nasarawa state, near Abuja, arresting four Chinese nationals and seizing several tonnes of lithium. Tomori said the case was currently before the courts.
On April 22, a federal court in Ilorin, north-central, found two Chinese nationals guilty of illegal mining and sentenced them to one year in prison, with the option of a fine.
Nigeria has long neglected its solid minerals sector, leaving some communities, such as the tin-rich north-central town of Jos, to rely on subsistence mining for their livelihoods.
Tomori said that in communities where mining is a livelihood, the government is encouraging artisanal miners there to form cooperatives and mine legally.
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