19 March 2014, Abuja – President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday announced the discovery of 44 new mineral deposits in 800 locations across the country in addition to the over 50 billion barrels of oil reserves.
He also disclosed that efforts were being made to generate power from coal in line with his administration transformation agenda.
President Jonathan who stated this at a 50th Annual International Conference and Exhibitions of Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) in Benin City, the Edo state capital, said the implementation of road map for the development of solid mineral sector in 2012 has no doubt led to increased sustained flow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in exploration and extraction of minerals- which include coal, gold, iron and ore.
Represented by the Minister of Mines & Steel Development, Musa Mohammed Sada, Jonathan noted: “We are full of optimism that not only will more mineral types and new locations be discovered, the exploration and exploitation of these valuable endowment will lead to employment generation and increased contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”.
– This Day
