The President of Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Sani Shehu, today stated five countries had declared interest to invest in Nigeria’s mining sector.
Shehu told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the countries were Thailand, South Africa, Dubai, Canada and Australia.
He stated they had declared interest to come to Nigeria with their equipment and start mining very soon.
As stated by him, their investment in the sector would boost Nigeria’s economy and create job opportunities for the youth.
While encouraging the investors, the president stated the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, and its Regulations 2011, were in line with international standard and guaranteed security of tenure.
He also stated Nigeria had a favourable geology and readily available geosciences data for prospective investors.
He stated that 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.”
As stated by the president, currently, mining has contributed only 0.3 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products.