Nigeria produces gold worth $194.4 million in one year

The Segilola Resources Operating Limited (SROL), a solid minerals firm in Nigeria, announced on Friday, that it had produced 84,609 ounces (2,398.6 kilograms) of gold, valued at $194.4 million at current prices, for 2023.

The firm run by Nigerians, said it seeks support from the Nigerian Government to expand its operations and make a greater contribution to the economy.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Segilola Resources Operating Limited (SROL), Segun Lawson, disclosed this while receiving the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on a site tour of SROL’s facility in Ilesha, Osun State.

Presenting the achievements of the company to the Minister, he said the company operates an open pit system involving drilling and blasting, hauling, and loading the rocks before processing them into gold.

He said: “Last year, it produced 84,609 ounces (2,398.6 kilogrammes) of gold amounting to 194.4 million dollars at current prices. The company spent N29 billion on local procurement and has 1,993 workforce with 98 per cent local employees.”

He, however, noted that they paid $4.3 million compensation so far and spent N1 billion on 25 community projects, which benefitted 11,112 indigenes, 135 fish and vegetable farmers, and 4,479 community members.

The SROL boss told the minister that the firm has recycled 1.27 metric tonnes of waste and its safety measures have achieved zero environmental incidents.

In response, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, pledged the support of the Federal Government for SROL, particularly because it promotes local content and positively impacts the host community with developmental projects.

He expressed the commitment of the federal government to support mining companies that place a premium on local content in their operations.

Alake expresses delight that over 95% of the SROL staff are Nigerians, urged other mining companies to emulate their methods in order to develop the sector.

He advised mining companies to emulate the international best practices of the Segilola gold project to develop the sector.

Commending the high Nigerian component of the project, Alake remarked that the firm has applied local content in its procurement and employment policies.

The Minister, in a statement by spokesman, Segun Tomori, praised the company’s tenacity of purpose and efficient methods deployed to push through with its vision, despite daunting challenges at inception.

Stressing that his focus has been to redirect local and international attention to the mining sector, Alake revealed that the implementation of his 7-point agenda is to reposition the mining sector.

He said: “I have made sanitizing the security environment one of the critical points of my 7-point agenda. Recently, as part of the process of actualising that policy, I had to unveil the creation of a mines marshal. They have a base in all the states of the country.”