By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Olamilekan Adegbite has revealed that Nigeria will stop the importation of Barite, an industrial mineral/product very useful in the petroleum well drilling even as he said six projects will be commissioned by the ministry in July.
The Minister who featured at the Special Weekly Ministerial Briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communications Team on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, used the event to throw more light on the giant strides his ministry has made and also expatiated on key collaborations between the Federal Government and the State Governments in the Mining sector.
According to him, the ministry has discovered no fewer than 44 solid minerals in Nigeria, pointing out that many are in commercial quantities in more than 500 locations across the country. He said that the mineral deposits are broadly categorized according to their uses, into five groups: Industrial minerals (such as barite, kaolin, gypsum, feldspar, limestone) and Energy minerals (such as coal, bitumen, lignite, uranium).
Others are Metallic ore minerals (such as gold, cassiterite, columbite, iron ore, lead- zinc, and copper), Construction minerals (such as granite, laterite, sand) and Precious stones (such as sapphire, tourmaline, emerald, topaz, amethyst, garnet, etc).
Adegbite also disclosed that seven minerals have been designated strategic to unlock the enormous potential in the sector. These are coal, iron ore, bitumen, gold, limestone, lead-zinc and barite
Said he: ‘we have adopted a forward-thinking approach, by developing the strategic minerals of the future. These include minor metals such as titanium and cobalt. Our Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Industry formulated in 2016 was geared to strengthening institutions and governance, build a strong Geoscience base, creating an enabling environment, strengthening industry participation.
The minister however said; “We strengthened governance and transparency in the sector and provided assurance to investors through the upgrade, automation, and decentralization of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO); We have improved the connectivity between investors and the public with important geological information through the establishment of a Nigeria Geo-Data Centre at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA). We are currently implementing an institutional restructuring plan for the NGSA.
He said government operationalized an Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) Remote Sensing Monitoring System to regulate and support ASM activities; strengthening the legal and regulatory framework for environmental and social management in the mining sector; by reviewing the Mineral and Mining Act 2007 and other enabling laws of our Agencies.
However, the Minister said the ministry has recorded many achievements and milestones such as the launch of made in Nigeria barite, the establishment of mining-related clusters in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and establishment of a Jewellry Making Training Center in Abuja where 45 students recruited from all the 36 States and FCT are being trained on Jewellery Making.
Speaking further Adegbite stated that some of the achievements of the sector are the large scale Gold production through Segilola Gold project and proposed refining through Dukia Gold and Kian Smith. Establishment of Fire Assay laboratory and Geoscience data Lab NGSA.
“Nigeria’s first large scale commercial Gold mine, Segilola Gold project, owned by the Canadian listed Thor Explorations Limited has commenced production in October 202. We are training jewelry makers in Abuja and building a Gemstone market in Ibadan. We are partnering with the Niger State Government to re-launch the Ladi Kwali Pottery brand and re-establish the Ladi Kwali Pottery Center based on a recently developed business plan, The Minister said.
On projects delivery timelines, he said “I said all these six regional projects will be commissioned by July. We are going to do our Bitumen Auction by June this year by the grace of God. What I told you is that before the end of the year, is the cooperation between NMDC and DICON. They produce Alloy for DICON, which they can use and is found to be cheaper. But actually the funding for that operation is coming in trickles. That’s why I can give a particular timeline”.
Adegbite however said all the achievements of the ministry could not have been possible without the unflinching support of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that he is the only President that has invested huge fund in the development of solid minerals sector.
