Jubilation has rented the air in Sokoto State as no fewer than 20 varieties of solid minerals in commercial quatity have been discovered across the Sokoto State in the first phase of research conducted by the state government in partnership with a Chinese-based company.
This is as the Federal Government’s effort at diversifying the nation’s economy had continued to receive a major boost with the discovery of coal deposit in commercial quantity in the state.
Some of the identified minerals already awaiting exploration include phosphate for making fertilizer, gold, limestone, gypsum, iron ore, copper, columbite, tantalite, zinc, kaolin among others, New Telegraph reports this morning
Tambuwal disclosed this at a capacity building workshop on Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for participants and government functionaries in mining, which is organised jointly by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the Sokoto Ministry of Solid Minerals and Natural Resources Development.
The governor, however, noted that with this development the efforts of the federal government to diversify the nation’s economy had received a major boost with the discovery of coal deposit in commercial quantity in state.
He said: “The state government has already engaged a Chinese company to conduct research on the available mineral resources, determine their locations and their commercial viability.”
On coal, the government said the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), otherwise known as Sokoto Cement and owned by the BUA Group, has started using the substance as a source of energy in operating its plant.
“BUA will use coal sourced from Sokoto to fuel the 40MW power plant being constructed at the factory.
The new cement plant can use both coal and LPFO (Low Pour Fuel Oil), and will source its power needs from the power plant, with the excess generated power moved to the national grid,” BUA Founder, Abdussamad Rabiu, told reporters during a recent tour of the factory.
He added that BUA’s $300 million investment in the new cement plant is the single largest private sector-led investment in the North West and has the capacity of producing 1.5million metric tonnes of cement yearly.
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