Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, announced a significant milestone for the country’s economy on Sunday. Nigeria has successfully sold raw gold at the London Bullion Market Association, resulting in a $5 million increase in the nation’s foreign reserves and the refinement of over 70 kilograms of gold to the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard.
This transaction marks an important achievement for Nigeria and has been met with celebration by the nation’s leaders, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Moreover, the successful aggregation of locally mined gold has injected approximately N6 billion into Nigeria’s rural economy, providing a much-needed boost to local communities.
The minister in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, said the refined gold would be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria to bolster foreign reserves.
Nigeria reportedly has about 600,000 tonnes of gold reserves, worth about $45bn located in several states including Zamfara, Edo.
Explaining to President Tinubu the significance of the event, Alake said it marked the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Program, the centralised offtake scheme supported by a decentralised aggregation and production network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives.
He said, “The successful completion of the first commercial transaction demonstrates the National Gold Purchase Program’s effectiveness. It has increased the nation’s foreign reserves assets and shown that using the Nigerian Naira to purchase a liquid asset traded in United States Dollars, such as gold, is a viable strategy. This transaction has also underscored the potential of the National Gold Purchase Program to enhance fiscal and monetary stability.”
Receiving and displaying a symbolic bar, Tinubu commended the Ministry for achieving a major milestone in the administration’s drive to diversify the economy.
“This is another concrete step towards the diversification process under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the President said.
