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Samuel Bello, Abuja
The Federal Government has raised concern over the rising cost of importation of barite, describing it as an anomaly that is gradually affecting revenue and depletes resources meant for development.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, stated this yesterday in Abuja during a stakeholders forum on local barite development in Nigeria.
According to him, with each import of barite, the country ships thousands of jobs to other countries, adding that the ministry’s long term plan is to place a ban on the importation of the product and close the demand and supply gap that currently exists.
Adegbite said, “evidence from our recent demand and gap analysis shows that out of the total value of Nigeria’s industrial minerals imports in 2016, barite represented 3.6 percent. The country spends millions of its hard earned dollars every year importing barite, a mineral we are abundantly endowed with in the northern part of the country.
“We have mapped out a development strategy towards creating a sustainable industry in Nigeria to support, regulate and monitor stakeholders along the barite value chain. This process will assist local companies with proven reserves that meet the industry standards to develop their capacity. We are creating a new framework that would promote the local production of barites that meets international acceptable standards.”
