Barite

The Federal Government says the country has attained self-sufficiency in Barite production and will no longer need to import the mineral from October this year.

Barite is a mineral that is used in the oil and gas industry. Nigeria imports about 300 million dollars’ worth of barite every year from Morocco.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said this on Thursday in Abuja during the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team.

According to the minister, the Buhari-led administration is doing everything within its powers to upgrade the mining sector.

“Thank God, in October 2021, we were able to inaugurate made in Nigeria barite only produced in Nigeria up to industrial standard and it meets international standards and is measured by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

“Since it meets all international standards, nobody has to import barite into Nigeria again from October this year, and that system is still in place and there will be one transparent platform.

“Where you put in your request from the miners to the processors and people who will bag it, everything is online.

“We are now sufficient in barite production and we can now export to places like Ghana and South Africa, where they don’t have barite and they also do exploration. At least we are closer to them than Morocco.”

On the long awaited completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company, the minister admitted that the current administration will not be able to complete the project in 2022 as earlier promised.

He identified the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as factors frustrating the completion of the steel project.

“The Federal Government had before the pandemic, successfully convinced Russia to complete the steel facility but could not proceed with the negotiations due to what he called force-majeure brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The deal with Russia involved a two million dollar fee for technical audit required to ascertain the state of the facility before works would begin.

“President Buhari graciously approved that money and we made frantic efforts to continue the negotiations with Russia after the lockdown, but progress was stalled again due to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”

Adegbite, however, noted that government would initiate irreversible processes to ensure the resumption and eventual completion of the steel facility, possibly, beyond the Buhari administration.

Fielding questions on the gold mining in Zamfara, the minister said the government had halted mining activities in the area because the conflict in Zamfara had gone beyond mining.

The minister disclosed that the Federal Government had intensified efforts against illegal mining across the country.

“We try to nip them in the bud wherever they rear their heads. With the community reporting to us, we have a quick intervention force. We can’t be proactive, it is too expensive to maintain. But we have a quick intervention force.

“If we hear any (illegal) mining happening in any nook and cranny, we move in there and dislodge them. Those that are arrested, we confiscate their equipment and they are prosecuted,’’ he said.

The Federal Government says it will be inaugurating “Made-in-Nigeria barite” on Oct. 28, to save US$ 300 million being spent annually on barite importation.

Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

Adegbite said that the inauguration, scheduled to hold in Port-Harcourt, would be a great achievement to the country and it would also save Forex for Nigeria.

“Barite is a mineral used in the oil and gas industry and Nigeria has the mineral all over the country, especially in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Plateau, Gombe and Cross River states.

He said that 50 bags of barite milled would be showcased at the inauguration, adding that the mineral meant for oil and gas industry was produced to meet America Petroleum Institute (API) standard set for oil industries.

“We have 50 bags as samples that have being produced and labeled proudly ‘Made-in-Nigeria’. What we have done as ministry is to create linkages from the mines to the millers to the baggage and to the market.

“Nigeria has been spending US$ 300 million annually importing barite but this must stop; we will go to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to protect barite local market.

“There are two ways to this, the council in its wisdom may ban importation of barite out-rightly, that is one way or the council will choose tariff protection for the local barite.

“Now, Nigeria is ready to supply the local users with barite and also to export to other oil-producing countries such as Ghana, South Africa to earn foreign exchange through exportation,’’ he said.

He said that the process is tedious but the ministry is able to achieve this in less than two years they assumed office.

“The API standard says for barite to be used in the oil and gas industry, it must meet a minimum of 4.1 gravity, the barite we have in Nigeria is from 3.8 to 4.8 gravity, that means we have some that exceeded API standard.

“We will blend the 3.8 with the 4.8 gravity then we will get the average of 4.5 gravity and there about, that means we are above the 4.1 API minimum standard requirement.

“We have sensitised our miners on the API standard and the barite must be blended to acceptable powder of 0.3 macron, it must be a fine powder, if it is less than, it will hang on the drilling ring.

“We are also carrying various stakeholders along and with the local content body in the oil industry set up by the Government; the body will be in Port Harcourt for the inauguration.’’

He said that an online portal that would connect all these people and the users together has been set up to block import of the product, as many of them would still prefer to import the mineral.

“We have set up price per kilogramme, we set up our price well below as an offer to the market for a start.

“We don’t want it to be a government thing that is why the portal is set up to run on its own.

“With the portal set up, the miner gets its money from the portal once it supplies the barite, the millers get what is due to them and the person supplying the bags gets his money to enable them pay royalty to the government.

He said this achievement would encourage more miners to come into the industry and invest, adding that it would also create job opportunities for the youth.

Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, described the inauguration as a giant milestone for the ministry, the Federal government and Nigerians.