The Federal Government has announced plans to establish six mineral centres in the six geo-political zones of the country to boost the mining sector.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Sunday.
Alake said that the plan was part of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to diversify the country’s economy, by developing key sectors such as the solid minerals industry.
According to the Minister, the centres are also part of the government’s commitment to promoting value addition to its minerals, aimed at facilitating multiplier effects on the economy.
Emphasizing that the country’s mineral resources are spread across the country, the Solid Minerals Minister said; “We have our minerals all over the country and we cannot concentrate the mineral processing centres in one area, and as we speak those plans are ongoing in the zones.”
Alake added that the government has developed a new policy to ensure that Nigeria derives maximum value from all minerals extracted from the country. According to him, investors in the past extracted raw mineral resources from Nigeria without adding value to them, which he described as a great loss to the country’s economy.
