The federal government, through the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, MMSD, has established a Kaolin Ore Processing Plant at Alkaleri in Gwaram Local Government of Bauchi State.
While commissioning the project on Tuesday, the minister, MMSD, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite called for critical stakeholder involvement in proper utilisation of the vast mineral potential in Nigeria in order to generate massive direct and indirect employment opportunities for wealth creation and improved national GDP.
In a statement by the ministry, Adegbite acknowledged the diversification efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration to change the narrative of the nation’s economy, and emphasized that the newly built Kaolin Ore Processing Plant signifies a move away from raw materials export to export of processed materials, which is where the profits lie in value addition.
On her part, the Permanent Secretary, MMSD, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade expressed delight at the commissioning of the Industrial plant, which has enormous economic valuability and industrial utilisation. She gave an assurance that the Ministry will continue to work for the development of the Sector to ensure national growth.
She further noted that the project and five others, respectively, established in each Geopolitical Zone of the country were anchored on the government’s determination to remedy the impact of the recent global pandemic on the economy generally and in the Minerals and Metals Sector in particular.
In his goodwill message at the occasion, the Acting President of Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji Musa Muhammed, who was represented by the National Treasurer, Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO), Mr Bello Galoji commended the cluster development project and the efforts of the Ministry under the Current leadership in developing the downstream value chain of the Solid Mineral Sector to fast track the economic agenda of the present Administration.
