LEPIDOLITE HARD ROCK MINING
In Kogi State (Yagba East & West LGAs), our 11.2 km² mining site (ML56643) and 40 km² exploration area (EL43710) produce 600,000 MT of lepidolite annually from 15 million MT proven reserves (estimated 50 million MT, 1% Li₂O). PowerChina Engineering, contractor of Nigeria’s 700 MW Zungeru Dam, leads this open-pit operation. After 11 years of teamwork on Zungeru—completed in 2024 with a USD 1.3 billion investment—PowerChina guarantees mining quality with their technical know-how, using advanced blasting and excavation techniques honed in Niger State. Their expertise ensures sustainable, high-efficiency extraction, empowering Nigeria’s lithium future.
LITHIUM PROCESSING PLANT
Contracted by PowerChina for construction and powered by Yonghuang’s cutting-edge technology, our Lithium Concentrate Processing Plant in Kogi is currently under development, targeting a 5% lithium concentrate from lepidolite ore. Scheduled for completion in mid-2025, this facility will process 1 million MT of lepidolite annually, doubling our production capacity and creating 1,000 additional direct jobs, with a further 500 indirect jobs in ancillary services. By localizing value addition, this plant reduces Nigeria’s reliance on raw mineral exports, aligning with national industrialization goals and enhancing our global lithium market presence. Lithium from this process, refined into Yonghuang’s battery-grade (≥99.5%) and industrial-grade (≥99.2%) lithium carbonate, powers electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and electronics, reinforcing Nigeria’s role in the clean energy ecosystem with Yonghuang’s 30,000-ton annual capacity supporting global demand under Ausconnect’s investment framework.
Empowering Nigeria, Enriching Lives.
The open-pit mine and concentrator are situated in the Local Government Area of Yagba East and Yagba West LGAs of Kogi State Nigeria, roughly 8 hours drive from Abuja, Nigeria Federal Capital Territory, supplying and producing Lepidolite concentrate of superior quality for the global lithium supply chain. The Kogi project is an economical lepidolite producer that employs traditional methods for resource extraction and processing. For grade control drilling and earthmoving activities such as blasting, loading, and hauling, contractors are deployed. Utilizing truck and excavator operations, the relatively flat-lying Lepidolite ore deposit in Yagba Land is mined efficiently, since late 2023.
LEPIDOLITE CARBONATE REFINERY
Slated for completion by mid-2026, this pioneering refinery in Kogi will convert 5% lithium concentrate into high-purity lithium carbonate, targeting 10,000 MT annually and scaling to 30,000 MT by 2027. As Nigeria’s first lithium carbonate producer, we leverage Yonghuang’s decade of expertise and PowerChina’s construction mastery—proven at Zungeru—to drive this project. Supported by feasibility studies (2023) confirming Kogi’s reserves and it will create 1000+ jobs and position Nigeria as a clean energy hub.
