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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, stated this at the opening of the 5th Annual Nigeria Mining Week, in Abuja.
Adegbite said the minerals, which include minor metals such as titanium and cobalt, were vital to futuristic industries such as the Telecoms and Electric Vehicle manufacturing.
The minister while welcoming participants at the event informed them that Nigeria was endowed with over forty-four different mineral types in commercial quantities in over five hundred locations across the thirty-six states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“These mineral endowments broadly cut across the various mineral spectrums adding that the country also has industrial minerals such as barite, kaolin, gypsum, feldspar and limestone.
“We are also endowed with energy minerals such as bitumen, lignite and uranium, while others are metallic ore minerals such as gold, cassiterite, columbite, iron ore, lead, zinc and copper.
Adegbite stressed that there were also construction mineral types such as granite, gravel, laterite and sand, precious stones variety such as sapphire, tourmaline, emerald, topaz, amethyst and garnet, amongst others.
He added that this clearly demonstrates the wide mineral spectrum Nigeria is endowed with, which offers limitless opportunities for exploitation, job creation, revenue growth and economic development as out of the forty-four minerals seven were selected for immediate development.
Adegbite added that Nigeria has the highest rates of return on mining investment, saying the country’s minerals were closer to the surface, conferring the advantage of lower cost of production when compared to other mining jurisdictions.
According to Adegbite the Federal Government created a business-friendly environment in the mining sector through reforms that grew out of the roadmap for the development of the Nigerian mining industry.
Adegbite emphasized that the ministry continued to work assiduously to boost the revenue generated from the sector.
The theme of the 5th Nigeria mining week is “ Seven Compelling Reasons to Invest in Nigeria’s Mining Sector”
