Nkechinyere Ewa Okpara
Chidi Onyia, the Commissioner for Solid Mineral Development in Ebonyi State, has said that the government has finalised plans to establish a metallurgical institute for research purposes in the state.
He explained that this institute will also be utilised for testing minerals, which aims to boost revenue generation for the state.
In an interview with the Media in Abakaliki, Hon Onyia noted that the state government has allocated N67 million naira to acquire various mineral titles.
Additionally, he noted that foreign nationals from Russia and China have approached the state government seeking partnership opportunities to develop various mineral deposits in the area.
“The Ministry has been working seriously to, of course, we have a huge deposit of limestone, if not the best in the country. Ebonyi is blessed, seriously. I think what is known to most people is the deposit at Nkalagu, which is the Nigercem.
“We have deposits of cement almost in all the local government of Ebonyi. But a greater percentage are in Izzi Ebonyi, Ohaukwu, Ishielu, and some parts of Afikpo. Now, we’ve been receiving, we’ve been discussing with so many investors who are interested in establishing a cement factory in Ebonyi.
He explained the challenge facing the state government in developing the Nkalagu cement, attributing it to legal issues with IBETO cement company, a major shareholder.
“But the challenge has been that the Nkalagu Nigercem is jointly owned. It is not fully owned by the state government and there are some legal issues around it. But we’ve also tried to reach out to the major shareholder, Ibeto, to know if we can partner with him, which we are still optimistic about.
“And we’re also discussing with him, of course, we have so many foreign nationals like Chinese companies who are willing to partner with him. So by the time he’s open for business, that’s the first part of it.
Onyia, however, stated that the state government had acquired mineral titles which made it eligible to negotiate with investors.
“Now coming to other areas that will have cement, we have companies that have been coming. I recently received one from Russia and some from China who are interested. The good thing is that we have some mineral titles. Of course, His Excellency approved 67 million naira for us to acquire licenses for the state government.
“So presently, we have some mineral titles that cut across almost all the local government of the state, and we intend to acquire more. The approval is out; what is remaining for us to pay for the grants and then get hold of the license? And when we do this, when these companies come, what it means is, as they are coming in, they will be negotiating with the state government as the title holder. And that gives us a comparative advantage. Of course, we decide who to give and how to do it.
“That’s that. We also have titles in salt, the Uburu and the Okosi salt. The state government is the title holder of those two areas. We are discussing how we can’t be answering the salt of the nation, and we don’t have salt. But I want to shock you. The salt we consume in Nigeria, over 70% of the salt we consume are all imported.
“The Dangote you hear, they import and are refined. Some of the salts we consume are coming from Namibia and some other African countries, not in Nigeria. And we are saying that we want to have our salt factory.
“Yes, I have some Chinese who are also interested in our salt. But the challenge is that most of them, because of power, have an interest in harvesting the salt and taking the salt to Lagos for processing. But I said, no, if you must benefit from our salt, you must establish a salt factory here, process it here, then it will bear Ebonyi a state of origin.
“But taking it to Lagos at the end of the day, like the Dangote and whichever company, you will see the address, either Portharcourt or Lagos. And that is not adding any value to us. So we are insisting.
“That is why, ordinarily, we would have started mining at the Uburu and Okposi salt, but we are saying, no, if you are not ready to develop it in Ebonyi here, we can’t give it to you. And that is why we are still holding the Ebonyi salt. So, for the Ebonyi cement, we are very optimistic about our negotiations and interactions with so many investors.
“Before you go into mining of any of these minerals, you must have either the licenses and that must come from the Ministry of Solid Mineral. So the Ebonyi cement, we are discussing with so many interested investors, but we are telling them to look away from Nkalagu and look towards where we have titles.
“Because it will be easier for us. The litigations and all that will not be there. And we are also planning to have a metallurgical testing institute in Ebonyi, which their school has approved for feasibility studies, which we are doing.
“Our idea is to partner with any of the universities we have in Ebonyi so that the institute will be domiciled in the university for sustenance. We wouldn’t want a situation where we would leave it in the hands of civil servants or politicians, possibly at the end of His Excellency’s administration, it will be a different story. But if it is in any institution in Ebonyi, it will be used for research purposes, testing of minerals from here and all that, which will, in turn, generate revenue for the state.
“We want to do a holistic geological survey of minerals in the state. So that we will have enough data on the minerals we have in Ebonyi. There are so many minerals that we have in Ebonyi, but because there is no proven data, you can’t for sure present it to a willing investor that you have.
“Because the first thing you will be asked is, where is the data? And if the data is not there, they will not take you seriously”.
This is indeed a welcome development for the State and would put Ebonyi on the Global Radar.