Markets

Nigeria’s First Gold Refinery to be Completed June 2019

Published

6 years ago

December 14, 2018

Nigeria’s First Gold Refinery to be Completed June 2019

A Nigerian firm, Kian Smith Trade & Co Limited, on Thursday, broke ground on the nation’s first gold refinery, saying the project would be completed by the end of the first half of next year.

It said the refinery would start with a production capacity of three tonnes per month of 99.99 per cent gold and one ton per month production of 99.99 per cent silver.

The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Bwari, who was quoted in a statement as saying at the ground-breaking ceremony, stated, “The present administration is determined to develop the mining sector to act as a catalyst for sustainable economic growth of the country.

“Part of our marching orders in the mines and steal development ministry is that we are expected to develop the sector to increase its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, improve its capacity to create jobs and engender sustainable mining.”

He noted that it was in keeping with his ministry’s mandate that a road map was developed for the growth and development of the mining sector.

“During the focus labs of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of this administration, we discovered that a well-organised gold value chain can trigger an economic revolution as it did in India, South Africa, Switzerland and others,” Bwari said.

He added that the ministry had continued to work in this light to develop a gold value chain for the country.

“We will be supplying the Central Bank of Nigeria, the jewellery and the electronics industry.”

We have already secured a significant monthly supply of gold from Zamfara, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, and Ilesha and about 100kg per month from other parts of Africa,” said the Vice Chairman, Kian Smith, Nere Teriba.

She said the firm was finalising supply agreements and terms from suppliers in Kano, adding, “Next week, we will be securing supply from Kogi State.”

According to Teriba, the refinery, when completed, will provide more than 500,000 jobs in two years as it continues to support its suppliers in their bid to become registered business entities in the mining sector.

“There are at present at least one million unregistered business participants in the Nigerian market (considering gold miners, sponsors, dealers, processors, aggregators and gold-workers).

The formalisation, organisation and development we bring to the value chain will provide quick wins to the Nigerian economy,” she added.

Also speaking, the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Adepeju Adebajo, expressed enthusiasm about the refinery project, saying it was in line with his government’s industrialisation plan.

Amosun described the project as a major boost to the Nigerian mining sector.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Crude Oil

Oil Prices Rebound on OPEC+ Output Delay Talks and U.S. Inventory Drop

Published

2 days ago

September 5, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Oil prices made a modest recovery on Thursday on the expectations that OPEC+ may delay planned production increases and the drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, rose by 66 cents, or 0.9% to $73.36 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by 64 cents or 0.9% to $69.84 per barrel.

The rebound in oil prices was a result of the American Petroleum Institute (API) report that revealed that the U.S. crude oil inventories had fallen by a surprising 7.431 million barrels last week, against analysts 1 million barrel decline projection.

The decline signals better than projected demand for the commodity in the United States of America and offers some relief for traders on global demand.

John Evans, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates, attributed the rebound in crude oil prices to the API report.

He said, “There is a pause of breath and light reprieve for oil prices.”

Also, discussions within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are fueling speculation about a potential delay in planned output increases.

The group was initially expected to increase production by 180,000 a day in October 2024.

However, concerns over softening demand in China and potential developments in Libya’s oil production have prompted the group to reconsider its strategy.

Despite the recent rebound, analysts caution that lingering uncertainties around global oil demand may continue to weigh on prices in the near term.

Energy

Power Generation Surges to 5,313 MW, But Distribution Issues Persist

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Nigeria’s power generation continues to get better under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to the latest statement released by Bolaji Tunji, the media aide to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, power generation surged to a three-year high of 5,313 megawatts (MW).

“The national grid on Monday hit a record high of 5,313MW, a record high in the last three years,” the statement disclosed.

Reacting to this, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, called on power distribution companies to take more energy to prevent grid collapse as the grid’s frequency drops when power is produced and not picked by the Discos.

He added that efforts would be made to encourage industries to purchase bulk energy.

However, a top official of one of the Discos was quoted as saying that the power companies were finding it difficult to pick the extra energy produced by generation companies because they were not happy with the tariff on other bands apart from Band A.

“As it is now, we are operating at a loss. Yes, they supply more power but this problem could be solved with improved tariff for the other bands and more meter penetration to recover the cost,” the Disco official, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, said.

On Saturday, the ministry said power generation that peaked at 5,170MW was ramped down by 1,400MW due to Discos’ energy rejection.

Crude Oil

Again NNPC Raises Petrol Price to N897/litre

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Investors King

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has once again increased the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N855 per litre on Tuesday to N897 on Wednesday.

The increase was after Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of Dangote Refinery, announced the commencement of petrol production at its refinery.

The continuous increase in pump prices has raised concerns among Nigerians despite the initial excitement from the refinery announcement.

According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the 650,000 barrels per day refinery will supply 25 million litres of petrol to the Nigerian market daily this September.

This, NMDPRA said will increase to 30 million litres per day in October.

However, the promise of increased fuel supply has not yet eased the situation on the ground.

Tunde Ayeni, a commercial bus driver at an NNPC station in Ikoyi, said “I have been in the queue since 6 a.m. waiting for them to start selling, but we just realised that the pump price has been changed to N897. This is terrible, and yet they still haven’t started selling the product.”

The price hike comes as NNPC continues to struggle with sustaining regular fuel supply.

On Sunday, the company warned that its ability to maintain steady distribution across the country was under threat due to financial strain.

NNPC cited rising supply costs as the cause of its difficulties in keeping up with demand.