‘Nigeria loses $292bn annually to untapped iron ore, lead reserves’

The national chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Metallurgical, Mining and Materials Engineers, Ayo Adeyemo, on Thursday, has hinted that Nigeria loses $292 billion annually to untapped iron ore and lead reserves in the country.

Adeyemo who was speaking at his investiture as the 10th national chairman of the institute in Abuja, said Nigeria can generate $280 billion from iron ore reserves and $12 billion from lead reserves if they are explored annually. This amount he said does not include other minerals like coal, gold, tantalite and cassiterite.

According to a 2018 geology and mineral resources of Nigeria report, estimated deposit for iron ore and coal were 3 billion tonnes collectively, while lead and zinc stood at 10 million tonnes.

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Adeyemo said the only reason Nigeria does not make this much from such minerals was the lack of political will on the part of government and corruption in past administrations.

“Despite the growth of about 240 per cent observed in the GDP contribution of these minerals between 2011, when it was N52.5 billion ($170 million) and 2017, the contribution of mining to the overall National GDP reduced from 0.14 per cent to 0.11 per cent.

“This is far too low compared to the earning potentials of minerals available in Nigeria,” he said.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Gross Domestic Product Report for Q2 2019, the mining and quarrying sector grew by 5.02% year on year in the second quarters of 2019, contributing an estimated N111.53 billion – aside crude petroleum and natural gas – to the total GDP of N34.9 trillion. This is about 0.32% contribution.

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