High Voltage: Is Nigeria the world’s new lithium hotspot?

• Nigerian lithium adventure places Chariot in pole position to supply Chinese battery customers
• Its new African operations have already sold artisanal pegmatite products to the Middle Kingdom
• Projects in Kwara and Oyo States similar geologically to giant deposits in Brazil’s Lithium Valley

Our High Voltage column wraps all the news driving ASX stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, rare earths, and vanadium.

Last week, Chariot Corporation (ASX:CC9) announced its plans to acquire a majority stake in a Nigerian hard-rock lithium portfolio, a move set to propel the company to the forefront of a new lithium hotspot.

Nigeria is emerging as one of the continent’s fastest-growing lithium regions, with this highly prospective hard-rock lithium portfolio, covering 254km2 across the Oyo and Kwara states.

It consists of four projects, Fonlo, Gbugbu, Iganna and Saki, and includes eight Exploration Licences (ELs) and two Small-Scale Mining Leases (SSMLs).

What’s really interesting about the projects is 1) they have already been in production via artisanal miners, despite never being drilled and 2) their geological similarity to Brazil’s Lithium Valley.

The projects have been historically and are currently being mined for tin and columbite-tantalite and semi-precious gemstones, indicating the potential for lithium-rich LCT pegmatite systems.

Rock chip sampling has previously returned up to 6.59% Li2O.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and already a major energy player as the largest oil producer in Africa, has been overlooked by TSX and ASX explorers for places like Brazil, despite the geological comparison.

CC9 managing director Shanthar Pathmanathan compared their potential to Sigma Lithium’s Grota do Cirilo project or Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX:PLS) Salinas project – both in Brazil.

“Instead of one asset, like Sigma was, we’ve got four projects that individually could be as big as Pilbara or Sigma,” he said.

“It could be a Pilbara, that could be a Liontown.

“At surface these are multi-kilometre strike systems, so as big as anything we’ve seen in WA and Brazil.”

In country knowledge the key

Pathmanathan said the deal came down to geologist Michael Cronwright, who had previously worked for the government in mapping the projects.

“Michael is an African lithium specialist and he is competent person for a whole bunch of African lithium names, and he worked on the NIMET mapping project in Nigeria,” he said.

“The main geo at Continental Lithium also worked on that project and that’s how these orebodies were found, by the government sponsored program.”

The company will acquire 66.7% in the assets via a joint venture with Continental– which will hold the remaining 33.3% – with CC9 funding a minimum of US$10m in exploration.

Entering the Africa-China supply corridor

The plan at the projects is to start producing on a small scale.

“Already we’ve gotten calls from various groups that promoted AVZ, we’ve gotten calls from Chinese parties who want deals on offtake and they want to fund modern small-scale development,” Pathmanathan said.

“China is prioritising African supply. Australia is not viewed as strongly any more by the Chinese, South America has some political issues evolving, and then Africa has got very little political resistance, very little ESG constraints and less red tape.

“It’s permitting friendly.”

Not to mention, African production has grown 500% in the last three years when lithium prices have crashed 90%.

“That is pretty startling because normally when markets fall people shut down, but what’s happened is the Chinese customers have gone to Africa and they’re paying a premium for African ore to support artisanal and small scale mining,” Pathmanathan said.

“That 500% increase in the last two years – in contrast to the shutting down of plants in WA and the shutting down of expansion plans in South America – tells me there’s a two track system and China is the biggest market in the world. It’s going to be the inside lane.”

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Weekly Small Cap Standouts

Anson Resources (ASX:ASN)

The company, via subsidiary Blackstone Minerals, is continuing its ‘polishing’ program of the highly purified lithium chloride eluate (LiCl) produced at the Green River Lithium Project, in Utah, USA, using the Koch Technology Services (KTS) Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) pilot plant.

Polishing is the first step in downstream processing which further removes minor contaminants remaining in the LiCl after the DLE process – and prior to the final steps of evaporation and carbonation.

With the majority of the contaminants then removed in the DLE process, the effectiveness of the polishing can directly impact the final grade and thus the capex and opex of a lithium carbonate plant.

Already the company has shipped two tonnes of lithium-rich Green River brine has been shipped to POSCO in South Korea as part of due diligence for a planned demonstration plant.

POSCO will then prepare initial engineering design and cost estimates to determine whether to invest in the demonstration plant at the project.

Anson expects this demonstration plant will operate on a continuous process basis to closely resemble that of the anticipated future commercial plant as well as generating significant quantities of lithium carbonate product.

Auking Mining (ASX:AKN)

The company has commenced exploration at its Myoff Creek Niobium/REE project in Canada, which hosts near-surface carbonatite mineralisation.

Notable high grade historical intercepts include 0.93% niobium (Nb) and 2.06% total rare earth oxides (TREO).

MD Paul Williams said the project has been the subject of exploration activities over the past 40 years.

“Previous exploration activities (including drilling programs) have identified a 1.4km by 0.4km area of near-surface Nb-REE bearing carbonatite hosted mineralisation,” he said.

“The planned helicopter-based survey will be used by AuKing to test the potential extent of the carbonatite mineralisation across the entire Myoff Creek tenure area.

“The results of this aerial survey will then determine the nature of future exploration (including drilling) in the area.”

Bayan Mining and Minerals (ASX:BMM)

BMM is also on the hunt for rare earths, but a little closer to the latest news coming out of the US.

Pentagon-backed rare earths miner MP Materials has signed a US$500m deal for the supply of rare earth magnets with Apple, guaranteeing the Cupertino-based tech giant a flow of supply free from China, the world’s largest producer.

And it’s bringing a cavalcade of ASX rare earths stocks along for the ride, including BMM which is literally on the doorstep of MP’s Mountain Pass mine in California, the only producing rare earths operation in the US.

The company’s Desert Star asset is just 4.5kms from Mountain Pass,

Initial fieldwork is now underway, thanks to the results of satellite imagery which has identified both rare earth and gold mineralisation indicators.

“[This] strengthens our belief in Desert Star’s dual commodity potential,” executive director Fadi Diab said.

“The proximity to world-class deposits, including the Mountain Pass REE mine and the Colosseum gold mine, adds a layer of strategic value to the project.

“With fieldwork set to commence shortly, we are confident that we’re well positioned to advance toward drill-ready targets and unlock substantial value for our shareholders.”

Victory Metals (ASX:VTM)

VTM owns the North Stanmore project in WA’s Gascoyne region, which promises to deliver critical metals including heavy and light rare earths, gallium, scandium and hafnium for the defence, semiconductor, auto and energy sectors.

The company has already received a letter of intent for a US$190m funding package from the US Export-Import Bank and this week announced it had secured System for Award Management approval – a critical prerequisite for engaging directly with U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Defence (DoD) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank).

VTM CEO and executive director Brendan Clark said it confirms the company’s legitimacy, compliance, and strategic alignment with allied supply chain priorities.

“This validation opens the door to long term partnerships with the world’s most powerful institutions,” he said.

“It positions Victory as a credible, secure, and ready supplier of the rare earths and critical minerals that underpin defence, energy, and future technologies.”

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Chariot Corporation, Anson Resources and Victory Metals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.