Environmental group warns Nigeria-US minerals deal could harm communities
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation has called for full disclosure and stronger safeguards around Nigeria’s mineral investment framework with the United States. The organisation says poorly regulated extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper could pollute water, damage farmland and repeat the environmental harms associated with oil production.
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation has warned that Nigeria’s recently signed mineral investment framework with the United States could expose communities and ecosystems to serious harm if extraction proceeds without strict safeguards. Nigeria and the United States signed the framework on September 23 to attract American investment into Nigeria’s estimated $700 billion mineral resources. Solid Minerals Development Minister Dele Alake and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau signed the agreement on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Nigerian government says the framework will support cooperation in exploration, processing, infrastructure and technical capacity. It also aims to promote investment and value addition across the mineral value chain. Alake described the signing as the start of a process to identify viable projects and build commercial partnerships.
In a statement shared with Premium Times, HOMEF said minerals including lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper could produce severe ecological and social consequences where regulation is weak. It warned that mining could contaminate water sources, damage agricultural land and disrupt livelihoods in rural communities. HOMEF executive director Nnimmo Bassey said Nigeria should not replace the environmental damage associated with oil extraction with similar damage from mineral extraction.
He said the Niger Delta’s experience should guide the country’s approach to mining. The group also raised concerns about pressure to accelerate mineral-title approvals and weaken Community Development Agreements. Nigerian law requires mining and quarry lease holders to conclude such agreements with host communities before development begins.
HOMEF called on the government to publish the full framework and clarify its environmental, labour and fiscal obligations. It said disclosure would allow communities, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to examine the proposed protections.
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