The Federal Government says it has allocated seven of the country’s strategic minerals to unlock the vast potential in the mining sector. This was stated on Thursday by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, at a webinar organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
The minerals include: Coal, Iron ore, Bitumen, Gold, Limestone, Lead-zinc and Barite.
The Minister added that the country has over 44 different mineral resources in about 500 locations across the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said: “Alongside the seven strategic minerals, the ministry is also looking into key minerals to fuel the future. These include metals such as titanium, tungsten, lithium and cobalt, which have various applications in futuristic industries such as aerospace, telecoms and electric vehicle manufacturing”.
The webinar was held to discuss the opportunities and impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Nigerian mining industry as well as the country’s economy.
Adegbite said the Buhari administration has been making efforts to revive the revenue shortfall and decline in oil prices through the development of the mining and agricultural sectors, adding that mining offer robust economic potential to diversify the economy, create jobs and increase government revenue.
“We are trying to stimulate mineral processing across the country using a cluster or hub approach. Each cluster will be provided with road and power infrastructure to encourage investors in processing and refining equipment to support a network of miners and processors,” he said.
