As part of the process to aid its efforts aimed at economy diversification and job creation in the solid mineral sector, the Federal Government will set up a mining intervention fund.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi, at the weekend, said the fund was designed as incentives for local miners and investors in the bid to stimulate growth in the sector.
The intervention fund, according to Fayemi, is part of the instruments government was putting in place to increase local production.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Yinka Oyebode, Fayemi made the disclosure during a breakfast meeting organised by the Stanbic IBTC Bank with investors in the Iron and Steel sector, in Lagos on Saturday.
Fayemi said the ministry was already working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Bankers Committee and the Bank of Industry to achieve this.
He said the ministry is committed to exploiting the nation’s mineral endowments in an environmentally sustainable manner and establish a vibrant minerals and metal industry for wealth creation, poverty reduction, promotion of economic growth and significant contribution to the country’s GDP.
Fayemi decried a situation where the country currently imports an estimated $3.3 billion of processed steel and associated derivatives representing 80 per cent of the $4.2 billion total metal products imported per year.
He said despite the country’s relatively robust iron ore reserves, there are only 30 steel rolling mills in the country with combined installed capacity of 6.5MT/annum. Only 18 are operational, producing about 2.8 MT/annum using 100 per cent scrap metal.
He said the government would realise its plan for a major turn around in the sector, through a strategic support for the local and foreign investors as well as creating enabling environments, through the right policy, for mining activities.
