The Nigerian government has approved licences for two new gold refineries.
Located in Abuja and Mowe (Ogun), the refineries will produce bullion for purchase by the Central Bank of Nigeria (as the main off-taker), and refine gold for export, as reported by Reuters.
Nigeria wants to diversify from oil, and has identified gold, lead and coal among its strategic minerals. The East African nation has largely untapped deposits of numerous minerals across at least 500 sites, yet informal mining and a lack of refineries have limited sector growth.
The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has plans to more than double the industry’s contribution to GDP ‘from about US$13 billion [in 2017] to US$27 billion, or 3% of GDP, by 2025’.
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