Bauchi govt. to partner with South Africa

Africtv - Mail News... Report

• Bauchi state government said on Thursday that it would partner with the South African government for the effective exploration and exploitation of the abundant solid minerals deposits in the state.
• The Nature has endowed Bauchi State with an abundance of untapped solid minerals resources which can be broadly categorised into three - metallic ores, non-metallic and gem stones

The permanent secretary of the state's Ministry of Solid Minerals, Malam Isa Mohammed, explained that the state was endowed with a variety of solid minerals in commercial quantity, the second after Kaduna State, but expressed regret that its potential had not been fully harnessed.

"Nature has endowed Bauchi State with an abundance of untapped solid minerals resources which can be broadly categorised into three - metallic ores, non-metallic and gem stones

"Unfortunately, these resources are left for illegal artisanal miners who use crude implements to carry out the extraction of the minerals; we need investors to come in."

He listed some of the minerals to include kaolin, tin, gemstones, granite, talc, quartz, iron ore, gypsum, zircon, calcite, tantalite, chalcopyrite, mica, copper ore, limestone, tourmaline, beryl and garnet.

Others are aquamarine pyrite, rutile, talc, cassiterite, migmatite, columbite, orthoclase, muscovite, aquamarine, topaz, marble, silver, fluorite, zircon, graphite, dolomite, wolfromite and bismuth among others.

Mohammed said that the state was already working out partnership arrangement with the South African Government on how to effectively carry out the exploration and to determine the commercial quantity of the minerals.

"This is because, considering the capital intensive nature of mining business, without a credible geo-science data, no investor would come in.

"We will also need their expertise on mineral exploration and extraction business as well as how their experts in the mining industry could provide training and capacity building for our local miners.

"We are ready to partner with any investor who is interested in the mining business; we have it all in this state."

He said that solid mineral development was one of the vital visions of Gov Isa Yuguda, which he believes that when properly harnessed and tapped, could sustain the state in terms of revenue generation.

"To achieve this, the governor has established a public limited liability company called Bauchi Mining Synergy and Exploration Ltd (BMESL) that will be run under Public Private Partnership arrangement.

"Because solid mineral exploration in the whole country is 95 percent dominated by artisans, the idea of the company was to maximally exploit the revenue potential of the mineral deposits in the state.

"The mining company will create a central market where extractors and buyers could meet with a view to sustaining the synergy between the miners and the buyers for the mining business to flourish.

"It will also provide sensitisation workshops and carry out awareness campaigns on mining activities generally.

"The company will also provide skill acquisition programmes with a view to enhancing the productivity of our local miners.

"Currently, we have more than 10 cooperative societies that have registered with us and others are still coming," he said.

He called on investors to invest in the solid mineral sector, assuring them of  high return on investment, adding that the state had an industrial policy with attractive incentives.

"Bauchi State is an investment free zone; our doors are open to investors.

"I assure you that with proper regulation, we will all reap the real benefits of solid minerals which would send us smiling to the bank," he said.

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