The African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) 2026 participants on Tuesday toured Steron Mining company in Wasa community, Abuja.
The tour, which was part of activities of the 5th edition of AFNIS, had participants from other African countries, officials of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, and the media among others.
AFNIS 2026, with the theme "One Africa, One Resource Vision", is to enhance dialogue, build partnerships, and attract investment into Nigeria and other African countries.
On the guarded tour of the site on Tuesday, participants were shown the various mining processing units culminating in lithium and granite production.
Answers were also provided for questions asked by the participants concerning the mining processes and safety of the host community.
Speaking with journalists at the end of the tour, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Steron Mining Company, Abubakar Sadiq Umar, said "We are honored to host AFNIS and the African mining community to our company showcasing what it looks like for the local Nigerian company to run a mining operation like this.
"We showcased the mining cycle of the occurrences of the minerals to the inference to the core drills to the identification of where the beans are and the depth and the nature of these minerals, which is lithium.
"Here we also showed the team how to drill blast and haul for production. We showed them the tunnels whereby we are directly feeding off from the veins from the mouth of the veins.
"We have two types of operations here, the open cast mine, open grid mining, and the tunneling. We also have granite, which is the host locks here in abundance, which was the initial thing that we started off with, the quarry. And we now discovered lithium some years ago, and now we have cloud occurrences of tantalite, so the exploration has just begun."
Speaking on the uses of the minerals, he said "Lithium especially, is used to power the future for batteries, and really this is where that's the energy transition from possible to renewable energy, and that is one of the most reliable sources"
On its quantity at the site, the Managing Director said "In 2023, we drilled an inverter result by a million tons and counting, and counting."
He explained that the company at these points is adding value by processing and separating the waste from the good stuff.
"That way, we are able to feed the processing plants that are around us, increasing the purity from one to 3% that we have to about 67% ready for exportation
According to him, the President Bola Tinubu's administration is committed with time and effort to seeing that local participation is prioritized, adding "hence the birth of an operation like this, so these policies have also welcomed foreigners. That's what AFNIS is showcasing, and you're able to host the African Community and the world to come and see what it is like to mine in Nigeria and power the world.
He said that the company is prioritizing social responsibility by putting the host community first in terms of their safety and their well-being.
"As you can see, they celebrate this visit more than we are, and we are one now with them."
The AFNIS 2026 Summit continues in Abuja on Wednesday and Thursday.