Authorities at the Ministry of Solid
Minerals Development yesterday
confirmed the discovery of world class
nickel in Kaduna State, by an Australian
mining syndicate.
Top officials at the ministry, who
confirmed the development in separate
telephone chats with LEADERSHIP, on
Monday night, said a more
comprehensive report would be made
available by the Ministry today.
One of the sources, who craved
anonymity as he was not authorised to
speak on the matter, said: “Yes it is true.
Nickel has been found in Nigeria, but we
cannot say anything right now. But be
rest assured that a comprehensive report
on the matter will be made available by
the Ministry today, or as soon as
possible.”
Nickel is a silvery-white metal with a
shiny surface common to most metals,
and is ductile and capable of being
drawn into thin wires. The name is said
to come from the German word
Kupfernickel, meaning “Old Nick’s
copper,” a term used by German miners.
It is also said to be one of three
naturally occurring elements that is
strongly magnetic. The other two are iron
and cobalt, but nickel is less magnetic
than either iron or cobalt.
Nickel is used in many forms, including
electric guitar strings, magnets and
rechargeable batteries. It is added to a
very important metal, alloy-stainless
steel, which has numerous applications.
It is used in cookware, cutlery, kitchen
appliances and various bronzes and
brasses as well as coins among several
others.
LEADERSHIP findings revealed that the
top ten countries where the mineral is
found in tonnage include the Philippines
(73,000) , Russia (240,000), Canada
(240,000), Australia (234,000), New
Caledonia (190,000), Indonesia (170,000),
Brazil (110,000) China (102,000),
Colombia (73,000) and Cuba (57,000).
Following the discovery, Nigeria is set to
join the league of the world’s largest
producers as the find is said to offer
potential for early cash flow. Nigeria’s
current major source of nickel, scrap
metals, currently yields an average 2.5
metric tons annually.
The discovery was first reported by an
Australian national daily, The Australian,
which reported that the private mining
syndicate that made the discovery was
led by Hugh Morgan, a mining industry
veteran.
“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 cash flow from a
simple and low-cost screening operation
to fund a full assessment of the find that
has exploration circles buzzing,” The
Australian reported.
Though the newspaper reported that
details of the discovery were sketchy, it
indicated that the discovery was on a
border town in Kaduna State, close to
Dangoma, a small farming settlement
about 160 kilometres northeast of the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
According to the report, Minister of Solid
Minerals Development, Dr Kayode
Fayemi, is one of 13 African ministers of
mines scheduled to attend this year’s
three-day Africa Down Under mining
conference at Perth’s Pan Pacific Hotel
in September.
Meanwhile, Fayemi has said that the
analysis conducted by major stakeholders
in the solid minerals sector, the
Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria,
indicates that Nigeria can generate at
least N5 trillion annually from mining and
exporting of its vast solid mineral
deposits.
He stated this in his keynote address at
the opening of the 5th International
Mining Investment Conference/Exhibition
on Nigeria, which started in Abuja
yesterday, with the theme, ‘Connecting
the Global Mining Industry to the
Opportunities of the Solid Minerals
Sector in Nigeria.’
The minister said: “Based on current
data, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector only
makes up about 0.34 per cent of gross
domestic product (GDP).
“While that is significant, it is much
smaller than its true potential as the vast
majority of our mining assets have yet to
be exploited.
“According to one of the major
stakeholders in the solid minerals sector,
the Association of Metal Exporters of
Nigeria, we can generate at least N5
trillion annually from mining and
exporting of its vast solid mineral
deposits, with several multiplier effects
on job creation, state development and
social infrastructure that could position
the solid minerals sector as the main
catalyst for national development.”
Fayemi noted that should Nigeria
successfully implement the proposed
recommendations, growth is expected to
return to the sector in the form of new
exploration activity, operations and
production from active mining, functional
and expanded processing and refining
capacity, and higher value-addition in
exports.
“The net outcome will be the creation of
thousands of direct jobs and potentially
hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs.
We anticipate contribution to mining GDP
to exceed $25 billion by 2026 as
industries are better able to use the
output of the sector, substituting for
imports,” he added.
The minister, however, lamented that the
sector was faced with both internal and
external challenges which include the
lack of viable geosciences data and
information, low industry participants,
institutions and governance
On the external challenges, he said:
“Asides the negative perceptions about
the Nigerian investment environment is
the turmoil besetting the global
commodities market as key sources of
demand that supported decent prices
over the past two decades have steadily
declined.
“This has put mines and mining houses
under immense pressure which is
reflected in the sharp decline in the
share prices of major industry players
such as Glencore, Anglo-American and
Rio Tinto. “Naturally, as the prices of
metals and their assets plunge, many of
the top mining houses are pulling back
from investment planning, shutting down
mines and optimizing current operations.
This greatly affects our prospects for
new entrants into the Nigerian mining
space.
He, however, stated that in spite of the
abovementioned challenges, the sector
was resolved to overcome them and fulfil
its mandate.
“As things currently stand, in 2015, the
sector contributed approximately 0.33
per cent to the GDP of the country. This
contribution is a reversal from historically
higher percentages (about 4-5 per cent in
the 1960s-70s).
“Our policy goal is to return to a
contribution level of 5 per cent -7 per
cent over the next 10-15 years, and the
recently approved Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the
Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) is very
supportive of this aspiration.
Also speaking the vice president, Prof
Yemi Osinbanjo, who was represented by
the special adviser to the president on
Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu,
said: “The conference is important
because it is coming at a time when the
world is mired in economic crises, which
requires a synergy of efforts to restore
goals and normalcy.
“The administration of President Buhari
has consistently advocated and pursued
the formidable policy of diversifying the
Nigerian economy from over reliance on
crude oil with the current economic
downturn. It had become imperative that
we focus on areas of comparative
advantage, like agriculture and solid
minerals development.”
While urging the participants to bring up
strategies of engagement, he assured
that the federal government, through the
Ministry of Solid Minerals Development,
had developed a roadmap to provide the
basis for some key initiatives which had
been identified as crucial to the success
of the sector.
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