Goodbye oil: After discovery of VERY expensive mineral; Buhari makes move for development
– The discovery of nickel is expected to further help to diversify Nigeria’s economy
– The mineral is described as world class
– The Ministry of Solid Mineral was upgraded and renamed
Following the discovery of nickel which is a rare mineral resource in the northern part of the country, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has approved the renaming of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals.
NAN reports that this was disclosed by Kayode Fayemi shortly after the Federal Executive Council meeting which was presided over by President Buhari.
He said it will now be known as Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development
READ ALSO: Discovery of nickel in Kaduna confirmed
Fayemi explained that the new roadmap seeks to grow the contribution of mining to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in line with the Buhari’s determination to further diversify the nation’s economy.
He said that under the new roadmap, there would be an independent regulatory agency for the mining industry as being advocated for by the operators in the mining sector.
He said: “What it seeks to do is to grow the contribution of mining to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in line with the president’s vision to diversify our revenue base in the country, stressing the place of agriculture and mining in that.
“What distinguishes this roadmap, which builds on the old roadmap that was approved by the council in 2012, is its determination to set up an independent regulatory agency, which investors have been insisting on that the ministry which has been serving as facilitator should also not be the one that regulate them.”
The minister said the new roadmap is a development of the old one and announced that the Inspectorate, Environmental Compliance and the Artisans and Small Scale units of the ministry would form part of the regulatory agency.
The new roadmap is expected to build partnership between the federal and state governments.
Concerning the newly discovered mineral, an Australian national news daily said that a private mining syndicate headed by a mining industry veteran, Hugh Morgan made the discovery at Dangoma in the north-west state of Kaduna.
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“The discovery is unusual because the nickel is found in small balls up to 3mm in diameter of a high purity in shallow soils in what could be the surface expression of a much bigger hard-rock nickel field.
“The nickel balls, rumoured to grade better than 90 per cent nickel and thought to be a world first given their widespread distribution, offer the potential for early cashflow from a simple and low-cost screening operation to fund a full assessment of the find that has exploration circles buzzing,” the newspaper was quoted as reporting.
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