VenturesNow

Nigeria to deploy satellite technology for mining surveillance

Published

6 months ago

June 3, 2024

The Nigerian government will employ satellite technology to monitor mining sites around the country, according to a statement by Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development.

Alake stated that this technology will support the 2,220 members of the Mining Marshal Corps—who are recruited from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)—in their efforts to combat illicit mining in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

To safeguard Nigeria’s natural riches, these corps members—who are dispersed throughout the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)—have additionally undergone modern combat training from the military.

He said, We are introducing some technology, we are not just relying on men and materials alone. The satellite surveillance gadgets we are putting in there is to enable us to see in real-time in all mining sites in Nigeria.”

“So that when we notice any infraction, very quickly we can deploy the mining marshals to go there so we don’t even have to wait for any interpersonal communication. That reduces the time of knowledge and action.”

“Right now, we depend on people passing intelligence to us but when the satellite surveillance gadget is working, we will be able to see it ourselves. Which is a step forward on the right direction.

He pointed out that the solid mineral industry is rife with security issues that President Bola Tinubu’s administration inherited, like as banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism. Most mining operations take place in woods, which are hotbeds of these crimes.

The Tinubu administration is dedicated to cleaning up the industry and shifting its role so that it makes a major contribution to the GDP (gross domestic product) of Nigeria.

The minister claims that to quickly address these problems, cooperative efforts are being undertaken with other government agencies, including the Nigerian Army, the Police, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

According to Alake, the ministry is committed to ensuring that the GDP (gross domestic product) of Nigeria is contributed by the solid minerals sector rather than oil. He emphasized that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is putting policies and efforts into place to diversify the economy and soon bring in more money than oil. This change is essential, particularly in light of the worldwide movement toward energy transition, which will lower the oil demand.

To facilitate the energy transition, he said, Nigeria possesses essential minerals in commercial quantities in all of its states. To draw significant investors to the industry, the government is actively marketing these resources.

Mineral production in Nigeria reached 121,204,122,000 metric tons in December 2021. The mining industry has seen a steady decline in share, from 5.6% in 1980 to a little under 1% presently. In Q3 2022, the mining sector in Nigeria contributed 0.3% to the country’s GDP, which was less than the 0.2% it had in the same period the previous year.

The mining sectors of Botswana, Ghana, and South Africa, on the other hand, contribute 16%, 12.6%, and 7.3% of their respective economies, making them far more significant.

Related Topics:Dele Alake Featured Mining Nigeria

Click to comment

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.

VenturesNow

Dangote refinery begins petroleum sales to West Africa

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an indication to traders that the activities of its mega-refinery might soon disrupt regional fuel markets, Nigeria’s private Dangote Petroleum Refinery has started exporting refined petroleum products to neighbouring West African nations.

According to a Bloomberg story on Tuesday, a tanker had transported a consignment of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to seas off the coast of Togo, a nearby West African nation. The article cited data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report, and a ship-tracking tool.

According to the source, a CL Jane Austen recently departed west after loading over 300,000 barrels from Dangote.

Recall that Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Authority, stated last month that the nation is thinking of purchasing petroleum products from the Dangote refinery in order to reduce the approximately $400 million it spends each month on more costly exports from Europe.

Speaking at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos, the chairman of NPA, Ghana, said that by eliminating freight expenses, buying from Nigeria instead of Europe will lower the cost of other products and services.

“If the refinery reaches 650,000bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Hamid said.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that the refinery would start exporting fuel to Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. Four more African nations—Niger Republic, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Central Africa Republic—had also begun talks with the refinery, it was said.

According to a very reliable source who spoke directly to one of our reporters, the management of the refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day was in the advanced stages of negotiations with the nations to begin lifting petroleum.

“I can confirm to you that talks are actually at the advanced stage with Ghana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, while the initial discussion is coming up with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic,” the source said.

The petroleum product shipment is currently floating off the coast of Lome, which is a well-liked location for ship-to-ship transfers, according to the source.

Furthermore, the final destination of the cargo of the CL Jane Austen is uncertain.

Despite being off Togo, the region is frequently utilised for ship-to-ship transfers, thus the gasoline may eventually be transported elsewhere.

“While the shipment is tiny in the context of the global gasoline market, it signals the ramp-up of Dangote’s production and the potential to export significant volumes of gasoline beyond Nigeria, which could upend regional markets.”

Last month, the refinery sent its first shipment of petrol by sea to Lagos, a neighbouring commercial centre.

Under the regulatory statute, the Federal Government last month terminated the state-owned oil company’s monopoly on purchasing gasoline from the plant for domestic use, but it has permitted the ongoing importation of fuel from the US and Europe.