Nigeria’s first gold refinery is to start operation with a production capacity of 3 tons of 99.99 percent gold and 1 ton of 99.99 percent silver per month by middle of 2019.
Already, Kian Smith Trade and Company, the promoters of the refinery, has secured foreign trade pact with the World Gold Council towards the full development of the Nigerian gold ecosystem as well as other related minerals in terms of mining, refining and trading.
This is happening as Abubakar Bwari, minister of state for Mines and Steel Development, has assured of the Federal Government’s holistic support for the development of solid minerals, especially gold and related mineral resources while also lauding the effort of Kian Smith for taking the bold step forward. .
Bwari, who spoke at the ground breaking of the refinery in Mowe, Ogun State, said recalled: “During the focus labs of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this administration, we discovered that a well organised gold value chain can trigger an economic revolution like it did in India, South Africa, Switzerland and other countries.
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Consequently, the ministry proposed a Gold Purchase Scheme with the primary purpose of developing the gold value chain through well articulated supply chain strategies, thereby leading to the production of gold products through value addition.
“The implication is that gold supply will be sourced from registered artisanal miners to allow for effective monitoring and regulation of artisanal gold production and ensure that correct gold production data are available. This is in addition to facilitating value addition by producing refined gold bars for the CBN under the Federal Gold Reserve Scheme, as well as the local jewelry industry.
“It is based on this premise, that the ministry approved the first Gold Refinery Licence to Messrs Kian Smith Nigeria Limited earlier this year. I must admit my admiration for the company’s swift response to this opportunity and today we are here to officially mark the commencement of construction activities for the gold refinery plant. There is no doubt that this project will eventually improve the economic fortunes of this nation by increasing socio-economic opportunities such as creation of new jobs and other forms of wealth creation along the value chain.”
Nere Teriba, Chief Executive of Kian Smith Trade and Company, stated that the firm currently works with various local and international partners to stimulate growth and development in the gold ecosystem of Nigeria as well as other related mineral resources as part of effort to spur speedy economic growth.
On what to expect from the refinery, she said in a shortest possible time, the plant would refine three tons of gold and one ton of silver respectively per month with regular supplies from hundreds of artisanal gold miners spread across Sokoto, Kaduna, Kano, Koji, Nassarawa, Ekiti Osun among other places in the country when the gold refinery is completed next year.
Teriba, who called for supports from government at all levels for the provision of enabling environment, said this was necessary to aggressively drive exploration, exploitation, mining, refining and trading on gold and other related solid minerals.
“We have already secured a significant monthly supply of gold from Zamfara, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Ilesha and about 100kg per month from other parts of Africa. We are presently finalizing supply agreements and terms from suppliers in Kano. Next week, we will be securing supply from Kogi state,” said Nere.
Nere added that the project will result in at least 500,000 jobs within 2 years, adding “there’s at presently at least 1,000,000 unregistered business participants in the Nigerian market (considering gold miners, sponsors, dealers, processors, aggregators and gold-workers.”
“Looking ahead, in the first week of January 2019, we shall commence the CAC registrations process for the suppliers who need assistance and it will be followed up with financial inclusion services to provide banking services to them. In January, we will begin expanding our buying centers from one location in 4 states to a wider reach to accommodate our confirmed supply channels,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government has pledged to give 80 – 100% rebates for genuine investors that apply for industrial lands under its land policy, which covers mining, manufacturing, agriculture and related investments,
The state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, represented by his commissioner for agriculture, Adepeju Adebajo, also said the friendly economic environment created by his administration in the state had attracted hundreds of investments had invested between $200 million and $2 billion in the last seven and half years.
He said that the state remained the largest contributor of solid minerals to the nation’s gross domestic product in form of limestone, granite, iron ore, silica sand, glass sand, phosphate, among others, hence, Kian Smith Gold Refinery and other big players in mines and steel industry are largely located in the state.
JOSHUA BASSEY & RAZAQ AYINLA
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