The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite says establishment of Mining Clusters in the six geopolitical zones will boost productivity of Artisanal and Small Scale Miners (ASM), generate wealth and create employment for Nigerians.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Public Relations, Mrs Etore Thomas in Abuja.
It explains that establishment of a Barite Cluster in Ugaga was necessitated by the abundance of Barite in the area.
According to the statement, the Clusters are Federal Government intervention projects to cushion the adverse effects of COVID-19 and jumpstart the economy.
“ The Barite Processing Plant is sited in Ugaga because of abundance of Barite in this location and the need to reduce logistics for processing, as localisation of industries at the sources of raw materials minimises logistics overload” Adegbite added
It adds that when completed, Barite will be processed in Ugaga and shipped to Port Harcourt where buyers and exporters could buy them.
The statement assures that the plant when completed, will not be run by government but by experienced and knowledgeable experts who have the wherewithal to run it on behalf of the Federal Government.
“Miners of Barite can bring it here to sell to processors or mill their Barite to the America Petroleum Institute (API) at a reasonable cost” .
According to the statement, Adegbite who carried out the inspection alongside the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade and the Director, ASM, Mr Patrick Ojeka, said the factory when operationalised, would increase the sector’s contribution to the Nation’s GDP.
The statement says the Permanent Secretary, Dr Akinlade called on Barite miners to take full advantage of the opportunity provided by this huge investment, to enhance productivity of Barite in the country adding that this, would save Nigeria the money being spent on Barite importation.