Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, says the Nigerian-Canadian company mining gold in Nigeria’s Osun State is to start exporting the precious metal in June this year.

Mr. Adegbite made the announcement in Abuja on Sunday at a NAN forum.

He described the Segilola Gold Project as a strategic investment for Nigeria’s economic diversification.

The minister said the company was a ‘poster child’ and the first foreign investor that was doing genuine and serious business in Nigeria.

Gold exportation ought to have commenced in the first quarter of 2021, Mr. Adegbite said, but the date was shifted, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The company will start exporting gold from Nigeria in June,’’ he stated.

According to the minister, the project is being executed by Segilola Resource Operating Ltd., a licensed operator and Canadian company, located in Iperindo in Osun.

He said that the company was listed and quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada, the eighth largest exchange in the world by market capitalisation, commanding some $3.1 trillion.

Mr. Adegbite said that the company was making a positive impact, borne out of its desire to ensure compliance with the economic diversification agenda of the federal government.

“Mining is a bit capital intensive. So, we need to attract serious players, people who can put in the money and then of course, begin to make money after some investment because it has a gestation period.

“Mining is not like trading where you put in your money today and then realise profit tomorrow.

“When you do exploration, it can take a year to three years, then you discover the mineral and then start the exploitation before money begins to roll in.” 

(NAN)