Ministry moves to stop importation of barite

 

The federal government is ready to block the importation of barite (an essential commodity used in the oil and gas sector) into the country.

Minister of  Mines and Steel Development Olamilekan Adegbite stated this at the Ministry in Abuja, on Friday, while receiving reports from two out of the five contractors involved in the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP) to provide data capable of attracting desired investment into the country’s  mining sector. 

The Minister stated that the N15 billion exploration project was to de-risk the mining sector.

He said the Ministry will launch its locally made barite on October 28, as part of efforts to promote Nigeria barites, boost the economy and ensure steady supply to other African nations like South Africa and  Ghana as the barite production increases.

“This is an Investment of N15 billion. Mining is about data; you can’t do mining without data. It is something that is hidden in the ground. It is important that we engage those who know how to get these data for us. And with this, we are de-risking the sector and are able to attract the right investors into the country.”

Director-general, Nigerian Geological Survey Agency who doubles as NIMEP chairman Dr Abdulrazaq Garba, said the projects are to generate geosciences information in Greenfield and Brownfield settings through integrated exploration methodologies. 

“The federal government has invested so much towards generation of geoscientific data, for diversification of the Nigerian economy.