Nigeria has started the construction of the country’s first ever gold refinery in Mowe, Ogun state.
It was reported by Bloomberg that the refinery, which is being constructed by Kian Smith Trade & Co Ltd, is scheduled for completion in June 2019. it will create 500,000 jobs when it is completed.
According to Vanguard, the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari, speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday, December 13, 2018, said President Buhari’s government is determined to develop the mining sector. He said:
“Part of our marching orders in the Mines and Steel Development ministry is that we are expected to develop the sector to increase its contribution to the nation’s GDP, improve its capacity to create jobs and engender sustainable mining.
“During the focus labs of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this administration, we discovered that a well organized gold value chain can trigger an economic revolution like it did in India, South Africa, Switzerland, and others.”
Speaking on the refinery project, the Vice Chairman of Kian Smith, Nere Teriba said the refinery will create 500,000 jobs when it is completed. She said:
“We will be supplying the Central Bank, the Jewellery and the Electronic Industry
“We have already secured a significant monthly supply of gold from Zamfara, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Ilesha and about 100kg per month from other parts of Africa. We are presently finalizing supply agreements and terms from suppliers in Kano. Next week, we will be securing supply from Kogi State.”
She also said that her company will help its suppliers as they move to become registered businesses, adding that:
“There’s at presently at least 1,000,000 unregistered business participants in the Nigerian market (considering gold miners, sponsors, dealers, processors, aggregators and gold-workers). The formalization, organization and development we bring to the value chain will provide quick wins to the Nigerian economy.”
Kian Smith also announced that the refinery will produce 3 metric tons of gold and 1 ton of silver every month, at the initial stage.
