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From Godwin Tsa Abuja
The Nasarawa State Government has thrown its weight behind a new $400 million rare earth and critical minerals processing facility billed as the largest of its kind in Africa, with the project expected to create 10,000 jobs.
The facility, being built by an indigenous firm, Hasetins Commodities Limited, at Uke in Karu Local Government Area of the state will add 12,000 tonnes per annum to the company’s existing capacity, pushing its total output to 18,000 tons per annum (tpa).
This positions the plant to tap into rising global demand for critical metals used in electronics, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and defence technology.
The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Princess Margaret Elayo spoke when she inspected the project’a site on Tuesday to ensure strict adherence with the state’s environmental policies.
Princess Elayo described the project as a milestone in the state’s industrialisation drive, noting that it would pioneer domestic processing of rare earth elements alongside critical metals such as platinum, uranium, and chromium.
The commissioner pledged the state’s full institutional backing, including security support, and commended the company for community investments such as road construction and borehole projects in its host communities.
She said: “My presence here today is to show our encouragement to support this project. Over 8,000 are working already in its other facilities
So, imagine this massive space, the kind of people that will come here to work. I see development already on ground.”
Princess Elayo added that government would work to curb illegal mining by formally integrating artisanal miners into the company’s operations, identifying additional sites where such partnerships could be replicated.
“In terms of partnership, we have identified a couple of places that we can also introduce to the company, including the integration of artisanal miners,” she said, noting the firm already employs about 80 percent indigenes.
As part of its community engagement, the state government also pledged to donate 5,000 trees for planting at the project site.
“With the activities of illegal mining, these are the kind of people we are looking for. In terms of partnership, we have identify a couple of places that we can also introduce to the company, including the integration of artisanal miners,she added.
“This is a huge investment that we should all be proud of the government and the good people of Nasarawa.
“I want to commend them because this is the kind ofinvestment and industrialisation that we are looking for; they are not only building facilities, they are engaging about 80 percent of our indigenes, the Commissioner stated.
Hasetins Commodities Limited specialises in processing and exploring rare earth elements and platinum group metals. Its facilities, built to OECD standards, currently process 6,000 tonnes per annum, making it a significant player in Nigeria’s critical minerals value chain.
The new plant is also designed to let artisanal miners pre-process minerals locally, cutting out intermediaries and keeping economic benefits within host communities.
Hasetins’ Managing Director and CEO, Prince Jidayi expressed deep appreciation to the administration of Governor Abdullahi Sule and the Ministry of Mining and Environment led by Princess Elayo for their continued support.
Jidayi said the much that has so far been achieved in the project shows how a state government’s commitment to advancement can create a secure suitable structure for facilities as the nature being out in place by Hasetins.
He spoke about the many innovations that his company is introducing to the processing of rare earth and critical metals in the country and assured his company’s host communities of continued support.
Jidayi said: “For decades the narrative has been of raw extraction and immediate export. Hasetins is advancing that. This plant will process rare earth metals and other critical like Tantalum, Tungsten tin and others.
“In doing so, we are strictly deploying advanced, closed-loop processing technologies designed to minimize environmental impact, manage Tailings responsibly and protect local water bodies and air quality.
“We believe that extracting and processing the components of the world’s green energy transition must not come at the expense of our local environment,” he said.
The Hasetins boss added that aside from Uke project, which is the company’s central hub, “we are setting up regional separation centres and satellite separation centrea to integrate and formalize artisanal and small-scale miners into a structured, safe supply chain..
“We are equipping them with gears, safety, training, support and offering them offtake structures that increases economic stability at rural communities,” he said.
