Minister of Mines and Steel Development Arc Olamilekan Adegbite has revealed federal government’s plan to build Kaolin processing plant in Bauchi, North East zone.
The minister who was speaking in Lagos during an interactive session with stakeholders said the completion would bring an end to importation of Kaolin in the country.
“Bauchi is very rich in Kaolin which is used in pharmaceuticals and the paint industry, so we are building a plant to process Kaolin in Bauchi.
He assured Nigerians that the creation of regional mineral projects in the six geopolitical zones would bring about increase in the sector’s revenue.
The minister said the federal government has received funds to establish regional projects as a way of cushioning the negative effect of COVID-19 pandemic on businesses by giving priorities to minerals where each of the geopolitical zone has comparative advantage.
While a gemstone market is to be built in Ibadan in the South Western Zone where value will be added, he said the government would develop the Barite production in Ogoja, Cross River states in the South South geopolitical zone.
He said the federal government would also discourage the exportation of raw lead by building a lead processing plant in Ebonyi in the South East Zone so that the state would be able to export lead ingot with all the impurities removed.
A gold smelting plant according to him, would be situated in Kogi state for the North Central Zone due to its gold deposit and as a way of supporting the Artisanal Miners in the state.
