Leadership (Abuja)
Alu Kingsley
11 October 2008
To give the present reforms of the federal government a more meaningful approach, Minister of Mines & Steel, Chief Tunji Sarafa Isola, has said that the federal government would privatise seven strategic minerals identified as viable resources for economic development. The minerals are Coal, Bitumen, Limestone, Iron Ore, Barite, Gold, and Lead/Zinc.
The minister who disclosed this at the recent ministerial press briefing, said that the seven minerals are world class and government have carefully chosen them for development in view of their strategic importance to the economy and their availability in quantities that are sufficient to sustaining mining operations for years. He said that the development of these minerals would enhance infrastructural development across the nation, as they are found in all the six geopolitical zones of the country. Furthermore, they had the potential to contribute 80 per cent of the sector's revenue to Nigeria's gross domestic product, GDP.
He also revealed that coal is to be exploited primarily for power generation, citing geological data that suggests a number of prospective areas with estimated reserves of 2,734 million metric tons.
Already, two companies, Western Metals Products Co. Ltd. and Dencar Services Ltd, have already indicated interest in the development of the Nigerian coal and are said to be offering the sum of US$15 M and US$10 M respectively for two coal fields in Nigeria.
The minister said that the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, in conjunction with the Bureau for Public Enterprises, would restructure six coal blocks to be put up for bidding, adding that the criteria for the bidding included technical capacity, proven financial ability to develop the mineral and a minimum work programme.
Also , a seven-man committee for the bidding of bitumen has been inaugurated .The committee, which has four months to submit it report, is chaired by Dr Siyan Omolomo director general of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency.
Bitumen, which has a proven reserve of 1 billion barrels equivalent to oil, is deposited in the western belt of Nigeria, around Lagos and Edo states.
Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Read comments. Write your own.
