NEXIM Bank’s Mining Sector Loans Reaches N7.17 billion

13 Nov 2015
Chibuike Oguh

Summary

NEXIM Bank’s funding has created 4,302 direct and indirect jobs in addition to foreign direct investment of $80,142, annually.

Roberts Orya is Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export – Import Bank and honorary President, Global Network of Exim Banks and Development Finance Institutions.

The Nigerian Export-Import Bank has granted loans up to N7.17 billion to Nigeria’s mining sector since the bank’s inception in 1991.

The Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Roberts Orya, released the latest figures during a meeting with the World Bank’s senior mining specialist, Francisco Igualada, and Linus Utsu of the Mining Investments Consult.

According to Orya, NEXIM Bank’s funding has created 4,302 direct and indirect jobs in addition to foreign direct investment of $80,142, annually.

However, Orya stated that despite the huge potentials of Nigeria’s mining sector, the industry is still underdeveloped and dominated by artisanal miners using crude machinery and equipment.

“Nigeria should make solid minerals exploitation the mainstay of the economy,” Orya said. “Solid mineral sector is making significant contributions to economic activities in South Africa. It accounts for about 18 percent of GDP, one million jobs, and 50 percent of all foreign exchange earnings.”

Igualada said Nigeria focuses excessively on oil, resulting in lost opportunities to create jobs, generate revenues, and develop support services from the country’s huge mining potentials.

“There is need for a structured consolidation of efforts towards developing the sector,” Igualada said. “This should focus on building the right capacity at human and institutional levels as well as establishing and enforcing the requisite legal and policy frameworks.”

Nigeria has more than 40 different solid minerals spread across the country. They include: gold, barite, bentonite, limestone, coal, bitumen, iron ore, tantalite/columbite, lead/zinc, barites, gemstones, granite, marble, gypsum, talc, iron ore, lead,
lithium, silver, etc. However, not all these minerals are available in commercial quantities.

The Ministry of Solid Minerals has identified seven strategic minerals for priority development: coal, bitumen, limestone, iron ore, barites, gold and lead/zinc.

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated his resolve to diversify Nigeria’s economy and has appointed Kayode Fayemi as the Minister of Solid Minerals.

Chibuike Oguh is Financial Nigeria's Frontier Markets Analyst


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