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Sunday marked a red-letter day for Nigeria’s mining sector, as Minister Dele Alake revealed the country’s successful entry into the global gold market with its first-ever raw gold sale on the London Bullion Market Association platform, a feat that promises to transform the nation’s economy.
Nigeria’s gold sales have generated a substantial surplus, swelling the nation’s foreign reserves by $5 million. Moreover, the country has successfully refined and certified over 70 kilograms of gold to the highest international standards, channeling approximately N6 billion into local economies.
At a weekend briefing with President Bola Tinubu, Minister Dele Alake revealed Nigeria’s latest gold achievement, highlighting the successful refining of artisanal and small-scale miners’ gold deposits through the Solid Minerals Development Fund.
As announced by Segun Tomori, the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, the refined gold is destined for the Central Bank of Nigeria, where it will be used to shore up the country’s foreign reserves and strengthen its economic position.
The country’s gold reserves are a treasure trove, with approximately 600,000 tonnes waiting to be tapped, primarily in Zamfara and Edo states. This untapped wealth is valued at a whopping $45 billion.
However, the upsurge of illegal mining has led to a notable diversion of the nation’s commonwealth into the hands of private individuals, thereby diminishing resources intended for public benefit.
Three years ago, former president Muhammadu Buhari declared Zamfara State a ‘no-fly zone’ as part of efforts to curb the problem of illegal gold mining.
At the event, Alake commended Tinubu for supporting reforms in the solid minerals sector, assuring that the National Gold Purchase programme will increase the country’s reserve and boost the naira’s value.
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Explaining to President Tinubu the significance of the event, Alake said it marked the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Program, the centralised offtake scheme supported by a decentralised aggregation and production network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives.
He said, “The successful completion of the first commercial transaction demonstrates the National Gold Purchase Program’s effectiveness. It has increased the nation’s foreign reserves assets and shown that using the Nigerian Naira to purchase a liquid asset traded in United States Dollars, such as gold, is a viable strategy. This transaction has also underscored the potential of the National Gold Purchase Program to enhance fiscal and monetary stability.”
Receiving and displaying a symbolic bar, Tinubu commended the Ministry for achieving a major milestone in the administration’s drive to diversify the economy.
“This is another concrete step towards the diversification process under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the President said.
Fatimah Shinkafi, Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, highlighted that the London Bullion Market’s Good Delivery Standard is the gold standard for global gold and silver trade, renowned for its stringent quality control and trustworthiness.
“Only gold and silver bars that meet our Good Delivery standards are acceptable in the settlement of a Loco London contract – where the bullion traded is physically held in London” she said.
