Neveah Limited is getting ready to open what is set to become West Africa’s leading recycling facility, in Shagamu, Lagos. The gas-powered plant, which is nearing completion will have the capacity to produce 36,000 tonnes per year of aluminium and 3,600 tpy of copper.
For Neveah, an MMTA member company which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, this is a new venture it that could transform not only Nigeria’s but the region’s supply chains.
Nigeria prohibits export of scrap, however its recycling rates are low, as they are in the rest of the region. The biggest recycler on the African continent as a whole is South Africa, but recycling rates for the rest of Africa average only around 4%, Neveah’s chief executive Ibidapo Lawal told the company’s break out session during the LME Metals Seminar in London. Only around 1% of global secondary aluminium supply comes from Africa. And while Chinese companies have started setting up recycling operations on the continent, there has been no great regional drive. Last year there were only around 20 recycling operators in Nigeria. Export of metal scrap from the country is banned, but scrap is largely uncollected. Meanwhile, Lawal pointed out, recycling can reduce aluminium production’s carbon footprint by 94%.
Local scrap generation meanwhile is growing, including in aluminium alloys, copper and brass. Since Nigeria is not permitting scrap exports, the pressure is on to recycle. Lawal says there are also opportunities for collecting and recycling scrap not only in Nigeria but in other countries like Tanzania and Ghana.
Initially, he expects that most of the metal the new plant generates will be exported, and Neveah has been in negotiations on long-term offtake agreements. However there also opportunities to supply some of its products to the local market.
