According to the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, the construction of Nigeria’s only large-scale commercial gold mine has started in Osun.
The governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, who was represented by the Secretary to the state government, Oluwole Oyebamiji said, “Osun State government is an ally in this project and we promise to give it every support to see it to fruition.”
The gold mine will start production in 2021 and will process 650,000 tonnes of ore per year with a target of 80,000 ounces per year, said Managing Director, Thor Explorations, Segun Lawson.
The gold mine will provide more than 1,000 jobs direct and indirect and will provide an influx of foreign direct investment to the sector.
The EPC contract was awarded to Norninco International by the country’s mines and steel development ministry, to build a turn key business.
Africa Finance Corporation invested $78m and have 10% equity in Thor Explorations, which is a Canadian listed gold developer, Thor Explorations, and its wholly owned local subsidiary, Segilola Resources Operating Limited.
Meanwhile, Senegal and the Ivory coast which are two of Africa’s largest economies have “declared a state of emergency” and have enforced curfews.
According to United Nations data Senegal has an estimated 16.m people whilst the Ivory coast has more than 26m people.
Coronavirus is tearing through Africa which by in large has porous borders across the 54 countries that make up the continent.
They have sensationally spoke out and said the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan was due to the scientists researching bat diseases and could be responsible.
Nigeria: AFC large Investment in Thor Explorations
Nigeria, a nation in West Africa, has geological data scarcity and poor infrastructure. But, the Nigerian government provides easier access to prospective gold investors on potential areas, targeted for exploration. Incentives are put in place that includes a tax holiday for projects that enter production. Also, it includes the removal of mining equipment import duties.
The largest oil producer in Africa has enormous untapped deposits of gold, lead, zinc, iron ore, and other metals. However, according to Olamilekan Adegbite, all extraction is carried out on a manual or small-scale basis. But, the future of mining and exploration is bright in Nigeria. So, investors might consider the promising future of Nigeria when it comes to gold mining and making sure to keep up to date on the gold price with charts from Gainesville Coins.
Thor has commenced production with share exploration investment among gold prospects and gold producers. However, Segun Lawson, the chief executive officer of Thor, says that the reputation of the country poses a major obstacle for many traditional mining financiers, and getting meetings was very difficult with investors. Nigeria is never known as a mining jurisdiction, so law reforms should be implemented to encourage investors to start exploration, like what happened in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the early 2000s. After these countries altered their legislation, gold and other precious metal mining and exploration exploded.
Nigeria is foreseen as a great mining and exploration arena, and Thor Explorations Ltd., an industrial-scale gold mine just accepted the challenge. Its current project is capable of producing about 80,000 ounces of metals per year in Nigeria and aims to start formal mining operations in early 2021. Despite the coronavirus crisis, Thor is positive and pushes through with its project, bringing Nigeria to the pedestal of gold mining in Africa and the world.
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