A British gold mining firm, Aurelia Mining Company Ltd, is set to invest $100 million in the mining and production of gold in Nigeria.
The Company’s Director, Julian Hammond in his visit to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc Olamilekan Adegbite, said they see Nigeria becoming a powerhouse in gold production in Western Africa and aspiring to diversify the economy away from oil and gas and have come to key into the country’s abundant mineral potentials.
“The company will commence a small mining operation with five to US$10m first,” and if the gold deposit is as big as expected, the company will invest about US$100m for a period of 10 to 15 years, he said.
In his response, the Minister said a Canadian firm is already scheduled to begin gold exploration in Ogun state.
The Minister also said the aggressive investment driving campaign embarked upon by the ministry in the recent past have started yielding results.
“I was in South Africa, London, Toronto among others, and with all these we were able to convince investors, to say, look, Nigeria is a place to come to,” he said
