The minister of solid minerals development, Dele Alake, has said the federal government would ban or foreclose on the issuance of mining licenses to investors without requisite plans for local value addition.

He said the government is no longer going to allow anybody or license any company that wants to go into the mineral sector without giving it a plan for local value addition like processing, and refining and this has a multiplier effect on the economy.

Alake also said such value addition instantly generates employment rather than a few people carting away lithium, gold, and the like to other countries to sell.

These minerals must now be processed in Nigeria, creating more value and beneficiation for local communities where they are sourced.