By Francis Adinoyi Kadiri
Abuja
The Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Mr. Noh Kyu-Duk yesterday said his country is very willing to invest in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, a development he said wields enormous economic prospects especially because of the fall of crude as an international market commodity.
The Ambassador who made the disclosure during a visit of a delegation of the Koran Embassy to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development said the Korean home government was very interested in collaborating with Nigeria to diversify its income sources from oil.
It is very important for the Nigerian government to exploit its solid minerals resources especially because at the moment, the fall I the price of crude oil is a pointer to governments to consider developing alternative sources of income for the country.
According to him, the fall in oil price is already affecting the Nigerian economy in an erratic way, so it is better for the Nigerian government to develop its solid minerals resources.
“As the Korean Ambassador, I like to promote the development of Nigeria’s solid mineral resources by strengthening the existing cordial relationship between Korea and Nigeria,” he said, adding that his visit was to seek ways of exchanging views with Nigeria so that he will be well informed on giving good advice to prospective Korean investors who will want to invest in Nigeria’s solid mineral sector.
Responding, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada who thanked the Korean delegation for their interest in the sector assured them of all necessary support needed to facilitate investments from Korea. “Government has since opened up the economy, and is diversifying from oil as an only source of revenue generation,” he said, adding that the diversification from oil started six years ago.
“The current situation in the market of oil was foreseen, the prices we received from our petroleum products indicated that there would be a fall in the price of crude,” the minister said, adding that the foresight of the administration made it to kick start the diversification of revenue sources.
He said one of the reforms undertaken by government was to privatize the sector: “Government was no longer involved in the business of mining, but it took up the role of regulator and administrator of the sector,” he said, adding that it created enabling environment for the private sector to invest and thrive.
He said in order to encourage foreign/local private sector investments in Nigerian solid mineral sector, government put in place very attractive incentives in the interest of investors.
Sada said the administration even established the minerals and metals promotion center in order to provide prospective investors with information needed with regards to availability of minerals across the country.
“As we speak, government has put in place all the required regulatory framework that guarantees safety of investments in the country’s solid minerals sector,” he added.
Blueprint authoritatively reports that as a strategy to attract investors to the sector, government puts in place incentives and strategies for investment among which are three to five years tax holiday, deferred royalty payments as well as possible capitalization of expenditure on exploration and surveys.
There is also extension of infrastructure such as roads and electricity to mining sites, and provision of 100% foreign ownership of mining concerns.
Obtaining mining lease in Nigeria
There are two options available to a company or an individual to enter into mining industry in Nigeria.
Through the acquisition of an existing mining property from the original owner. Approval must be obtained from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for such a purchase.
By obtaining an application, a Prospecting Right (PR), an Exclusive Prospecting License (EPL), or a Special Exclusive Prospecting License (SEPL), the application should state financial and technical capability qualifying the applicant for entry into the mining sector.
Nigeria is endowed with numerous mineral resources. Recent policy reforms have brought the solid minerals sector to the fore. The emphasis is on encouraging massive foreign investors’ participation in this sector.
Profile of solid minerals deposits in Nigeria
TALC: An estimated reserve of over 100 million tones of talc has been obtained in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Kwara, Ogun, Taraba and Kaduna States. There are only two medium size talc processing plants currently operating in Nigeria and both are located in Niger State.
IRON ORE: There are over 3 billion tones of iron ore found in kogi, Enugu, Niger, Zamfara and Kaduna States. Iron is currently being mined at Itakpe (Kogi State), which is more or less at the center of the region of crystalline iron deposits. The large deposit of oolitic iron ores of Kogi and Enugu States are yet to be fully explored. Itakpe iron ore is being beneficiated to 67% Fe. Besides, there are three in-land rolling mills at Oshogbo, Jos and Katsina in addition to some privately owned rolling mills in Lagos and Kano.
GOLD: There are proven reserves of both alluvial and primary deposits of gold with proven reserves in the shiest belt covering the western half of Nigeria. At present exploitation of alluvial deposits is being carried out mostly by artisan miners in a few places in the country. A number of primary deposits, which are sufficiently big for large scale mechanized, mining, have been identified in the northwest and southwest parts of the county.
BITUMEN: The occurrence of Bitumen deposits in Nigeria is indicated at about 42 billion tones almost as twice the amount of existing reserves of crude petroleum. When fully developed, the industry will no doubt meet local requirements for road construction and also become a foreign exchange earner for the country.
ROCK SALT: The national demand for table salt, caustic soda, chlorine, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hypochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide exceeds one million tones. There are salt springs at Awe (Plateau State), Abakaliki (Enugu State) and Uburu (Imo State), while rock salt is available in Benue State. A total reserve of 1.5 billion tones has been indicated, and further investigations are now being carried out by government to ascertain the quantum of reserves.
GYPSUM: Gypsum is an important imput for the production of cement. It is used for the production of Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) and classroom chalk.
LEAD/ZINC: An estimated 10 million tons of lead/zinc veins are spread over eight States in Nigeria. Joint venture partners are encouraged to develop and exploit the various lead/zinc deposits all over the country.
BENTONITE AND BARYTE: These are the main constituents of the mud used in the drilling of all types of oil wells. The Nigerian barite had specific gravity of about 4.3. Over 7.5 million tons of barite has been identified in Taraba and Bauchi States.
COAL: Nigerian Coal is one the most bituminous in the world owing to its low sulfur and ash content and therefore the most environments friendly. There are nearly 3.00 billion tones of indicated reserves in 17 identified coalfields and over 600 million tones of proven reserves.
GEMSTONES: Gemstone mining has boomed in various parts of Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi States for years. Some of these gemstones include Sapphire, Ruby, Aguamarine, Emerald, Tourmaline, Topaz, Garnet, Amethyst, Zircon and Fluorspar which are among the world’s best. Good prospects exist in this area for viable investments.
KAOLIN: An estimated reserve of 3 billion tones of good kaolin tic clays has been identified.
TANTALITE: Large deposits of Tantalite are known to occur in Nasarawa, Gombe and Kogi states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
Pelletisation of Coal for Domestic UseGiven the large deposits of brown coal in the tertiary sediments east and west of River Niger; Nigeria can cash in on foreign investors’ technology to produce coal pellets for industrial use, coal briquettes for domestic use; that is, to replace firewood.
