Nigeria is richly endowed with abundance of mineral resources. The country boasts of more than 40 valuable mineral deposits including clay and kaolin, gold, gypsum, iron ore, lead and zinc, phosphate, and tin across the 36 States. Baryte, bitumen, coal, gold, iron ore, and limestone, lead-zinc and coal have been identified by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development as Nigeria’s strategic mineral deposits on grounds of their economic value.

Quarrying dominates the output of the Mining and Quarrying sector by over 90 percent and recorded a growth of 21.16% in full year 2020 from -5.63% in 2019 and 10.33% in 2018, in contrast with Metal Ores which contracted by -5.85% in full year 2020 from -14.38% in 2019 and 26.34% in 2018, and Coal Mining which contracted by -20.5% in full year 2020 from 13.15% in 2019 and -5.81% in 2018. Products such as granite, gravel, marble, sand, and other construction materials are in high demand locally because of a combination of a growing housing deficit and infrastructure development projects.

However, notwithstanding the growth in preceding years, Nigeria has barely scratched the surface of its enormous geological potential, taking into consideration the contribution of less than 1% by the mining sector to her GDP…