Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto
The efforts of the federal government to diversify Nigeria’s economy has received a major boost with the discovery of coal deposit in commercial quantity Sokoto State
Speaking during a capacity building workshop on Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV)s for beneficial participation of state governments in mining, jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and Sokoto State Ministry of Solid Minerals, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, said the discovery boosts Sokoto’s share of solid minerals awaiting exploration by the authorities.
According to him, others earlier discovered include phosphate for making fertilizer, gold, limestone, gypsum, iron ore, copper, columbite, tantalite, zinc, kaolin among others.
He said the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) owned by the BUA Group, had already started using the substance as a source of energy in operating its plant.
He explained that BUA would use coal sourced from Sokoto to fuel the 40 mega watts power plant being constructed at the factory.
“The new cement plant can use both coal and LPFO (Low Pour Fuel Oil), and will source its power needs from the power plant, with the excess generated power moved to the national grid,” he said.
He described BUA’s $300 million investment in the new cement plant as the single largest private sector-led investment in Nigeria’s North-west and has the capacity of producing 1.5 million metric tonnes of cement per annum.
Tambuwal said the state government had already engaged a Chinese company to make research on the available mineral resources, determine their locations and their commercial viability in the state.
He added that the company had already presented the first phase of its findings and identified 20 varieties of solid minerals.
