Five countries declare interest in Nigeria’s mining sector

Alhaji Sani Shehu, the President, Miners Association of Nigeria, on Wednesday said five countries had declared interest to invest in Nigeria’s mining sector. Shehu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the countries were Thailand, South Africa, Dubai, Canada and Australia. He said they had declared interest to come to Nigeria with their equipment and start mining very soon. He said their investment in the sector would boost Nigeria’s economy and create job opportunities for the youth. While encouraging the investors, the president said the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, and its Regulations 2011, were in line with international standard and guaranteed security of tenure. He also said Nigeria had a favourable geology and readily available geosciences data for prospective investors. According to him, Nigeria is richly endowed with various minerals that manifested in multiple occurrences all over the country. “There are 44 minerals occurring in no fewer than 500 locations in Nigeria; the notable minerals are Metallic, Tin, Tantalite, Columbite, Iron ore, Nickel, Lead, Zinc, Zircon, Silver, and Copper. “Among them are industrial minerals, Barytes, Talc, Limestone, Clays, Marble, Graphite, Asbestos, Feldspars, Glass sand, Gypsum, Talc, Mica, Precious minerals, Gold, Silver, Gemstones Coal, Bitumen, Lignite and Uranium.” The president said currently, mining contributed only 0.3 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products.