The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, will on Tuesday officially launch the commencement of the Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Raw Materials Buying Programme of Nigeria’s first gold and precious metals refining company, Dukia Gold and Precious Metals Refining Company Limited.
Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refining Company Limited will on the same day launch the Dukia–Heritage Bank Gold & Precious Metal Buying Centres, a project in partnership with Heritage Bank Plc for the sourcing and aggregation of Gold and other precious metals in line with OECD guidelines. Dukia Gold will also launch Precious Metals Buying Centre and the proprietary Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Trading Platform.)
Bose Owolabi,the Managing Director of Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refining Company Limited who confirmed this development in a statement on Sunday said the company is at the heart of the delivery of the Dukia Gold Project;adding;”It is primed to fulfil a substantial gap in Infrastructure required to achieve the full value chain of operations, i.e. from Mines and Recyclable Gold to Mint and from Mint to Market.
The Dukia Gold Project the statement said addresses and delivers critical solutions by which to ensure full Beneficiation of Precious Metals, including the refining of Precious Metals in Nigeria to the highest international standards, in such a way that Nigerians and Nigeria can begin to trade and receive fair pricing and value for Precious Metals originating and produced in Nigeria.
It would be noted that Nigeria’s enormous deposits of Gold & Precious Metals have largely remained untapped for various reasons which include the scale of capital investment required to activate required infrastructures, inattention to required policy frameworks, the distractions of fossil fuels’ dependencies, among others.
Recall, the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has over the years sought to make the sector attractive to Investors with some success.
Dukia Gold is conceptually wholly Nigerian, driven by informed commitment and competence, leveraging on sterling local and global partnerings across the spectrum of expertise required to bring it to life sustainably and successfully, going forward.
It comprises solutions geared towards facilitating and stimulating necessary developments in and of the Gold & Precious Metals’ subsector of the Solid Minerals sector of the Nigerian economy.
The statement noted that through a process of juridification, the Dukia Gold Project will help to curtail exploitation of local miners by illegal traders who smuggle precious metals out of Nigeria with negligible gain to these local miners and with no returns to the national economy.
The launch ceremony will be online via the ‘Zoom – Meet and Chat’ platform, starting at 9.00am on Tuesday June 9th 2020.
A seminar with the theme: The Future of Gold and Precious Metals in Africa will precede the virtual launch of the Commencement of Operations of the Dukia Gold & Precious Metal Refining Company Limited, the Precious Metals Raw Materials Buying Program and the Dukia–Heritage Bank Plc Buying Centres and the proprietary Dukia Trading Platform.
Bose in the statement noted further that His Excellency, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, will be in attendance at the epoch-making event. Honourable Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc.Olamilekan Adegbite will be declaring the Project open and His Excellency Governor Kayode Fayemi, the Executive Governor of Ekiti State and the President of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum will give a keynote Speech at the Event. Other State Governors, Ministers, Head of Parastatals, Private Sector participants, Mining Stakeholders, International & local Implementation Partners, etc will be in attendance.
The Lead Seminar Paper will be delivered by Ibrahim Sagna, Director & Global Head, Advisory and Capital Markets, Afrexim Bank. Other key Speakers include Mr.Ifie Sekibo Managing Director, Heritage Bank Plc; Akin Akeredolu-Ale, Managing Director, Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange (LCFE); Humphrey Oriakhi, Managing Director, PAC Capital, Ms Bose Owolabi, Managing Director Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refining Company Limited and Mr. Femi Williams, Managing Director, NewWaves Ecosystems Limited.
Dukia Gold and Precious Metal Refining Company Limited set out to be foremost indigenous Gold & Other Precious Metals Refining & Trading Company. It is commencing its nationwide purchasing of gold and precious metals after the launch of designated Heritage Bank Gold and Precious Metals Buying Centres, focusing on adding value to the gold and precious metals industry in Nigeria and West Africa, and on delivering a major source of alternative foreign exchange revenues.
When it becomes fully operational, the refinery will be the first of its kind in West Africa, and it will open opportunities for artisanal miners, gold & precious metals owners and allied enterprise to obtain appropriate financial value for their products amongst other benefits.
The Company will also work with Miners who register on its platform to ensure that they get access to appropriate Plant, Machinery, Equipment, Tools, Kits, Support, Etc. required by them so as to improve their productivity and ensure better Health, Safety and Environment conditions.
The Company will also focus on ensuring proper Corporate Social Responsibility in host communities where its Stakeholder Club Members operate.
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