The World Bank-assisted Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification Project (MinDiver) in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, has expressed the need for Nigeria to design a roadmap for the development and diversification of industrial minerals
The administration’s plan was a roadmap on the need to develop a mining industry and identified strategic pathways to guide the accelerated development of prioritised industrial minerals.
Nigeria is rich in over 30 industrial minerals. According to MinDiver Report, Nigerian oil-and-gas entrepreneurs are now responsible for 18.9 per cent of the oil production to integrate more local content into oil and gas exploitation, adding that the Nigerian steel sector is being revitalised and existing extraction of industrial minerals is made by Nigerian entrepreneurs and generally does not require substantial capital investments.
MinDiver report stated that the activity is a key component of the project conceived to implement an integrated programme that would enhance the upstream development of industrial minerals along with the critical process of value addition at the downstream stage.
The report further said that the strategy adopted by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development aligns with the Africa mining vision policy framework created by the union in 2009 to ensure that Africa utilizes its mineral resources strategically for broad-based, inclusive development. It is Africa’s response to tackling the paradox of great mineral wealth alongside pervasive poverty.
According to the Project Coordinator, MinDiver, Dr. Sallim Salaam, Nigerian building and construction industry has had rapid and steady growth over the past two decades, and it has one of the highest rates of expansion among all the sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Salaam said: “Nigeria’s drive to diversify its economy by leveraging on the high potential of natural resources is a priority programme under the economic reforms of president Buhari’s administration. Indeed, the success of the African Union’s sustainable development vision is predicted on the proper utilization of the natural resource endowment of the nations on the continent, particularly industrial minerals commonly used as raw materials in industries.
“Nigeria is richly endowed with over 30 industrial mineral types found in about 752 locations. These findings are at different stages of development, from exploration to mining. Key participants in the industrial minerals sub-sector are artisanal and small-scale operators who exploit feldspar, trona, kaolin, talc, silica sand and dolomite for the chemical polymer and pharmaceutical industries.
“Others are quarry operators that mine and process granites, limestone, and marble as aggregates for the construction industry, cement, and lime production. Also included are barite and mica for mud drilling in the oil industry and phosphates for fertilizer production and soil liming.
“Generally, the local production of industrial minerals has steadily grown from 43,725,070 tonnes in 2016 to 78 454,628 tonnes in 2021. Even at this level of progress, Nigeria currently imports over 80% of its industrial minerals for the local industries. The Federal Government is determined to develop the available industrial minerals to stimulate industrial growth further and for import substitution.”
“One of the primary goals of the new roadmap is to create and implement a strategy to promote the domestic supply of mineral raw materials for local industries. The most relevant industrial minerals identified in the roadmap, as being exploited in Nigeria are minerals used in the construction industry: limestone, laterite, sand, clay, shale, dolomite, marble and granite.
A second relevant group includes minerals used by industrial chains such as calcium carbonate and lime for water treatment, manganese and dolomite for steel making and iron cast. Others are kaolin and feldspar for the ceramics industry and mica for the electrical and painting industries.”
Lamenting over Nigeria’s high dependence on imports of industrial minerals, Salaam added, “The roadmap identified that Nigeria in 2016 imported more than 51,000t of calcium carbonate and lime, alongside substantial imports of these minerals, exceeded 28 million USD,60 per cent of industrial minerals. Alongside the construction and water treatment sectors, the industrial minerals imported are used in steel, oil and gas and a wide range of other industries.
Nigeria has a mineral endowment appropriated to meet the domestic demand for industrial minerals in volume and quality, and the roadmap aims to reduce Nigeria’s import dependence on industrial minerals.”
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc Olamilekan Adegbite, while speaking recently on Local Barite Development in Nigeria, explained that the Industrial Minerals Roadmap will optimize Nigeria’s industrial minerals to meet the standards of the manufacturing, industrial, and construction industry, while significantly reducing import dependency.
Adegbite said the roadmap will not only strengthen the capacity of local miners and processors of barite, but will facilitate the realization of the economic diversification agenda by creating jobs and wealth along the industrial minerals value chain.
He noted that the development is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision for a more diversified, inclusive, and sustainable economy, the federal Government initiated bold mining sector reforms that would deliver the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in restoring growth, investing in our people and building a globally competitive economy.
As UN estimates Nigerian population growth rate to 450 million by 2050, and the need for housing, road and bridge construction is expanding fast.
Salaam said: “Nigeria’s building and construction industry has had rapid and steady growth over the past two decades, and it has one of the highest rates of expansion among all the sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“Nigeria’s cement sector is sophisticated, with many cement factories having fully integrated quarry-to-depot operations. As a result, the factories can distribute cement and related products across the African continent.
The estimated cost for implementing the actions described in the roadmap is 123.5 USD, to be spent over five years, the direct economic benefit obtained from the substitution of mineral imports covers this cost.
Job creation, he added, the development of skill and poverty alleviation are considered, the benefits of the implementation of the roadmap are enhanced since they encompass economic, social and environmental dimensions, in line with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
According to a data showing from the MinDiver project media department, there are three strategic pathways to guide the implementation of the roadmap for the development of industrial minerals to achieve the vision of the Federal Government for the Nigerian mining industry.
They include the promotion of the provision of construction minerals needed to meet the growing demand of the construction industry; promote the provision of industrial minerals used in industrial sectors considered critical to Nigeria’s economy; Maximize the potential of world-class recognized deposits of industrial minerals by creating conditions to enable them to compete in quality and cost with global peers.
“The first pathway addresses the needs of the construction industry, which includes providing housing and transport infrastructure. The second pathway aims to provide industrial minerals to sectors considered vital to the Nigerian industry, the oil and gas industry, the steel industry, the water treatment industry, and agriculture, which consumes phosphates and carbonates.
The third pathway aims to maximise the wealth created by the sustainable mining of first-class mineral deposits. For example, kaolin and mica, which require low investment efforts to create value-added products fitting the global market’s needs.
The first and second pathways benefit from the existence of a large and fast-expanding domestic market, strengthening the prospects of a successful implementation of the roadmap. The roadmap includes 19 actions selected because of their impact, favourable social acceptance and cost–effectiveness.
The description of each action includes the minimum time frame necessary to obtain measurable results, alongside the level of social acceptance, number and diversity of stakeholders involved in the implementation, estimated cost and the expected benefit according to the preliminary evaluation.
The description also included a summary of the action, the expected outcomes, synergies with other activities, critical factors for success, responsibility for implementation and the key performance indicators that should be used to measure results.
