Nigeria expects the first significant iron ore production next year from its Itakpe iron ore deposits as it looks to reduce its dependence on oil and gas revenues, Dr Olusegun Aganga disclosed in Australia over the weekend.
“Unfortunately, once we found oil, all the attention went to oil and we neglected (other areas)… mining is one of the key areas that we want to diversify into,” Olusegun Aganga, minister of trade and investment, told Reuters at a mining conference in Perth, Australia.
Nigeria, which gets nearly 80 per cent of its revenues from oil and gas production, will start receiving revenue from iron ore production next year, he said. The Itakpe iron ore deposit contains 3 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves, according to the minister.
Aganga said initial production from the mine is expected to be 2 million tonnes a year, ramping up to 20 million tonnes annually in five years, a development that will help Nigeria establish a track record in the mining industry and allow it to attract more investors.
“Unfortunately, once we found oil, all the attention went to oil and we neglected (other areas)… mining is one of the key areas that we want to diversify into,” Olusegun Aganga, minister of trade and investment, told Reuters at a mining conference in Perth, Australia.
Nigeria, which gets nearly 80 per cent of its revenues from oil and gas production, will start receiving revenue from iron ore production next year, he said. The Itakpe iron ore deposit contains 3 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves, according to the minister.
Aganga said initial production from the mine is expected to be 2 million tonnes a year, ramping up to 20 million tonnes annually in five years, a development that will help Nigeria establish a track record in the mining industry and allow it to attract more investors.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/09/nigeria-sees-first-iron-ore-output-in-2012/
This is good news for our economy; using a multi-national company to develop our national resources is the best. Certain percentage of this company will be owned by the citizens and it shares could be owned through our local stock market. Royalty will be paid to the government and other companies that will rely on the products will be formed. This is how our economy will grow and there will be employment for our citizens. If the government form an indigenous company to mine these resources, heaven help us; it has never worked because it breeds corrupt and embezzlers.
ReplyDeleteHere we go again; SELL SELL SELL everything till we dry out; Australia has huge deposits of iron ore, so why selling water to the fishermen. Ajaokuta Steel Industry is turning a waste dump, no technology of our own to restart the damned industry. Nigeria has the best coal(smokeless) at Udi in south east, huge abundance of coal, and high volumes of natural gas; these are the basic pre requisites for industrial civilization; thousands of jobs will be created, lo and behold our VOODOO ECONOMIST(s), non technical prone, are contemplating selling off again. Bunch of functional educated illiterates are running this country.
ReplyDeleteYou are telling them in Perth, meanwhile, we do not know in Nigeria. How true is this statement?
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