WHAT ARE MINERAL RESOURCES?
Mineral Resources are pure inorganic substance that occurs naturally
in the earth’s crust. All of the Earth’s crust, except the rather small
proportion of the crust that contains organic material, is made up of minerals.
Some minerals consist of a single element such as gold, silver, diamond
(carbon), and sulphur.
Minerals are valuable natural resources being
finite and non-renewable. They constitute the vital raw materials for many
basic industries and are a major resource for development.
MINERAL RESOURCES IN NIGERIA AND THEIR
LOCATIONS
Adamawa
State
Kaolin, Bentonite, Gypsum and
Magnesite
Akwa
Ibom State
Lead/Zinc, Clay and Limestone
Anambra
State
Lead/Zinc
Bayelsa
State
Clay and Manganese
Benue
State
Lead/Zinc, Limestone and Salt
Delta
State
Marble, Glass Sand and
Gypsum
Ebonyi
State
Lead and Gold shocked
Edo
State
Marble and Lignite
Ekiti
State
Kaolin and Feldspar
Lagos
State
Glass-sand, Clay and Bitumen
MINERAL RESOURCES IN NIGERIA AND THEIR IMPORTANCE
1. CRUDE OIL: Nigeria is the largest oil
producing country in Africa. According to proven oil and gas reserves, our
country has 23 billion barrels of crude oil and 160 trillion cubic meters of
gas according to nigeria.gov.ng. The major part of oil deposits is situated in
the Delta basin in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo,
Ondo, and Rivers states. The deposits are multi-layered. The depth of
productive layers on land is 1500 - 2000 m and on the shelf is 2500-3600 m. are
multi-layer, the depth of productive strata on land is 1500-2000 m, on the
shelf - 2500-3600 m. Many oil deposits have gas caps. Nigerian oil is
low-sulfur with high paraffin content. Its gravity is 36 API for light types
and 20-23 API for medium and heavy types. Crude oil provides the lion's share
of Nigeria revenues.
2. TALC: Nigeria has more than 40
million tones of talc deposits. They are situated in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun
and Kaduna states. The talc industry produces 3 thousand tons of talk a year.
Talc is used in one of the most diverse branches of industrial minerals in the
world. The extraction of huge talc deposits can satisfy local and export needs.
3. GYPSUM: Gypsum has great importance
in cement manufacturing. It is also used for other demands. At present, cement
production is 8 million tons a year when Nigerian demand is 9.6 million tons.
We need to increase the capacity to meet our needs. Approximately, one billion
tons of gypsum deposits lie in many Nigerian states.
4. IRON ORE: The country owns more than 3
billion metric tons of iron ore deposits in Kogi, Enugu and Niger States and
the Federal Capital Territory. Iron ore mining carries out at Itakpe (Kogi
state), and we receive up to 67 percent of iron.
5. LEAD AND ZINC: About 10 million
tons of lead and zinc deposits are situated in eight Nigerian states. The
proven reserves include 5 million tons. Lead and zinc deposits can be used both
for local needs and for export.
6. BENTONITE AND BARYTE: These minerals
are the main components of the drilling fluid for all types of oil wells. The
baryte mined in Nigeria has special gravity 4.3. More than 7.5 million tons of
baryte have been found in Taraba and Bauchi states. Huge bentonite deposits of
700 million tons are situated in many states of Nigeria and can be massively
developed and exploited.
7. GOLD : Gold is the 3rd most
precious metal in the world. Nigeria has proven deposits of both alluvial and
primary gold in the shale belt of the country. It is situated in the south-western
part of the country. The reserves are mainly alluvial and today are being
extracted in small quantities.
8. GEMSTONES: Gemstones are mined in
different parts of Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi states for many years. Among them
there are sapphire ruby aquamarine emerald tourmaline topaz garnet amethyst
zircon fluorspar Gem mining in Nigeria is an up-and-coming industry and
requires significant investment. Precious gems always were and will be highly
appreciated in the whole world.
