THE NIGERIAN MINING SECTOR: AN OVERVIEW

That the mining of minerals contributes only a meager 0.3% to the GDP of the national economy given

the enormous mineral potential of Nigeria, is disheartening to say the least. Many a reason has been

attributed to this abysmal performance of the sector, with over-dependence on the country’s vast and

non-renewable oil resources as the most convincing reason. Organized mining having started over a

centaury ago and specifically in 1903,as against the discovery of oil in 1956 indicates that all having

been equal, un-employment, poverty, etc would have been presently only at its barest minimum. 

Nigeria’s non-oil mineral resources consist of strategic Minerals that can thrust the nation into the 

committee of industrialized economies of the world. The paper examines the mineral potentials of

Nigeria, the mineral policy framework, state of privatization of Public Mining Companies and its

capacity to transform all sectors of the national economy through wealth creation, providing

employment opportunities and by equipping Nigerians with the requisite skills, development  could

spread to the local small scale industries striving in the informal sectors of the national economy.