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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Director-General, National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency (NSRMEA), Dr Umar Albarka Hassan, has stated that value addition in iron and steel production was not only for the purpose of revenue generation but also to spur industrialization and investment rates in the country.
Hassan stated this during an interview session with journalists in Abuja on progress made in the steel and minerals sector.
He noted that the country has established smelting companies that will produce large sums of steel metals that had exportable characteristics to the world and which investors have come to reckon with.
Speaking on the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company located in Kogi State, he stressed that there is hope not only for the Ajaokuta Steel Company but for other steel plants in Nigeria.
“For Ajaokuta, it has peculiar challenges and we are aware of the MOU the government has signed for the development of the steel company this is not only for the blast furnace functions. Our key plan is not only for Ajaokuta. We also have a hub that produces iron ore for most of the private-owned steel companies in the country that produces steel through scrap metal, that hub will help to reduce the amount of money expended on materials required to produce steel products.
He disclosed that the agency has been able to establish the production of manganese which will definitely step up the importation of that resources for the production of steel in Nigeria.
“We don’t produce steel, we produce steel, we establish local sources to facilitate the local producers to boost their capacities to produce steel thereby bridging those gaps. So if we do that along with the processing of some local sources for our raw materials, especially for iron ore, then we will improve the sector.”
Discussing the role of the Agency in exploration and sourcing for raw materials for economic development, he explained that, the minerals resources are found and majored under iron and steel minerals.
He also revealed that some of the achievements of the agency in developing the nation’s economy include “establishing the gap of characterising our minerals resources, we explore, establish deposits but are they really suitable for use to produce iron and steel so that agency ensures this using our improve and confirmed laboratories to facilitate characterisation on these raw materials that we established.
“And currently these laboratories are apt and in good working conditions. We have the Scintrex( Fluxgate) Magnetometer for magnetic surveys, SARIS Resistivity Meter for Earth Resistivity Measurements, drilling rigs and support equipment and mineral separation equipment that will enable us to produce and sample products that we can test their suitability.
“Similarly for the physical survey activities we have acquired equipment that would empower that department to enable them to establish locations and facilitate determination of real targets to minimize searching for actual locations of these resources.”
He further stated that the role of the agency in sourcing local sources of raw materials for example iron ore has fostered the development of the African Natural Resources Steel Plant in Kaduna State noting that, NSRMEA helped in the exploration of iron ore that was used to establish the company similarly for Ajaokuta Steel.
“Building upon the previous achievements of the agency, we have discovered and established iron ores in some areas where such had not been established, talking about the Raw Materials industry in Niger State, there is also the establishment of Bauxite in Ekiti State and similarly a very important local source for Silica Sand resources that we established in five, 5, States of Katsina, batches found in Ogun, Ondo, Akwa Ibom. Also, we have established Manganese resources located in Cross River and Kogi State we have also established and earmarked local sources deposits in Zamfara State,” he added.
