2022 Mining week: FG demonstrates resolved to nation’s row gold in to objects of beauty

FAVOUR ISHEMBER, Abuja

The Federal government has demonstrated it’s resolved to transform the nation’s row gold in to object of beauty to mitigate exporting the values and wealth out of the country.

Speaking Ahead of the 2022 Mining Week, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, (MMSD), Arc Olamilekan Adegbite said the government has fine tone ways to turn our row gold as mined and melted into objects of beauty ornament, Jewry.

Especially, the minister said Government has demonstrated this by putting money on the ground, as it has executed  six regional projects on the downstream policy.  “In Kogi State, we have a gold metal  that’s processing. Kogi State, being the regional one for North central

In  Kano, North West, we have a gold suck, what we’re doing at this gold suck essentially is to turn our row gold as mined, as smelted into objects of beauty ornament, Jewry”

And we are not just doing that, we are also training people that will do this.

So you can see how integrated and interwoven they are. We have graduated about three sets of people now, who have learned Jewry making, so these are the people that will populate this sector, as far as gold is concerned.

“If you talk about South West  region, in Ibadan,  people come to Ibadan there was a formal market at Ojor which we are building on, they come there, they buy our stones in a row form and take it away, without value adding; and of course, they get the better part of the deal, our people are  short-changed

But what we are doing now in the jem stone market is the fact that we are going to add value to the stone, we are going to cut and publish so that it becomes something valuable. When you fund row stone on the ground, is like a diamond as well, is only when it’s cut and polished that you will appreciate its beauty”

So on that same skut, people are being trained on how to handle Jen stones. In Ibadan, it will be a world-renowned center for the jem stone trade, not just row Jen stones but stones that are cut, that is polished, even, they could get other, people manufacturing jewelries different places, they can place an order for stones and you give the size and whatever, so Ibadan will be a production center, the minister assured.

For the South East, we are doing a led burning center in Ebony and for the South/ South, we are processing berate, berate is abundant around that area and we are processing berate.

For the North East, is curling processing that we are doing. Curling is something that is used in the industry, so we are processing curling to industrial grade for those that will be used in pharmaceutical, in the wet one, and in the dry one”

Adebite emphasized that what is being done now is demonstration projects as what will be produced might not be able to satisfy up to ten percent of the  market; hence, there will be room for investors to come in on this

” for instance, what we could be producing from Bauchi will probably not satisfy up to ten percent of the market, so there is room for investors to come in any of these. On other minerals, we have 44 of them, so that is what government is doing, to make sure that we utilize the minerals locally without actually exporting the value outside, and exporting our wealth as well”

Revealing the theme of this year’s event titled “SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE NIGERIAN MINING SECTOR” the Minister stated that, it will highlight the giant strides of this administration through the Mineral Sector as one of the cardinal drivers of the diversification Agenda.

“As earlier mentioned, one of the key issues to be discussed would include the vital mineral resources of the future which are the building blocks for many technologies providing us with green renewable energy, while allowing us to keep in line with the Environmental, Social and Governance, ESG, global standards.

“We shall also deliberate on the acquisition of bankable geoscientific data, the efficient and transparent mineral title administration processes, as well as downstream opportunities in the Mining Sector and the Nigerian Mineral value-chain Regulations, 2021.

“Indeed, the future minerals are globally recognized as vital for the economic well-being of the world’s major and emerging economies, as they are essential for producing new energies and technologies,” he explained.

He disclosed that these minerals primarily comprise copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, platinum group minerals, and to a lesser extent, aluminum, chromium, graphite, manganese, rare earth elements, and zinc.

.On the threat to security, the minister assured that the country was safe to host the event saying that Abuja is safe; the country’s entire security agencies have been deployed to ensure that all lives and property are well secured.

For a better society

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