By Bisola Adeyemo
Nigeria’s Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite has announced that the ministry is ready to collaborate with Belgium to further develop the mining sector.
In a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Ayodeji Adeyemi, the minister also revealed that the country looked to export barite to some African countries.
The minister also revealed that the ministry was set to make the sector more vibrant by fulfilling its mandate to diversify the economy away from oil, create jobs, and raise the revenue profile of the government.
The statement reads: The ministry’s recent achievement in the area of local barite production that met the American Petroleum Institute standard would save the country millions of dollars spent on importing barite.”
“Last year we launched the Nigerian barite to show that we can now produce barite that meets the API standard in our country.
“This will save us millions of dollars spent on importing barite every year, which would also create jobs and lead to skills specialization in some specific fields.
“We are also looking at the possibilities of eventually exporting barite to other African countries which would earn our country revenue,” he added.
“Nigeria has a lot of gold and we are developing the sector to attract investment into it. Nigeria is not just about oil and gas.
“We are richly endowed with diverse mineral assets in varying mixes and proven reserves. As we pursue our growth innovations through continued exploration, more mineral types and finds are being discovered.
“We can confirm that every zone in Nigeria has some minerals to bring to the national table of resource riches. As of today about 44 minerals have been identified.
“The mining-related clusters in the six geopolitical zones will boost the productivity of artisanal and small scale mining, generate wealth and create employment opportunities for the youths.
“The programme comprises of the set-up of a Gold Souk (market) in Kano to encourage import substitution, Gemstone Marketing and Processing Center in Ibadan, Gold Processing Center in Mopa-Muro in Kogi State, Barite Processing Center in Ogoja, Kaoline Processing Facility in Bauchi and the Lead Zinc Processing Center in Abakaliki.
“The ministry had instituted some business-friendly incentives and policy in the sector to make it more attractive to foreign investors.
“Some of the incentives we have instituted to make the sector more attractive to investors include Customs and import duties waiver for the plant, machinery, and equipment imported for mining operations. Tax holidays of between three to five years as applicable.
“Free transferability of funds and permission to retain and use earned foreign exchange, capital allowances of up to 95% of qualifying capital expenditure, deductibility of Environmental Costs (money meant for environmental remediation will be tax free). 100% ownership of mineral properties” the statement explained further.
In his response, the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Daniel Bertrand expressed his country’s interest in the sector, saying; ‘I am just looking to see if there is any possibility of cooperation between both countries.’