Nigeria are looking to the future

Nigeria is looking to attain investments of around $7 billion into mining and steel, so they can venture gold and iron ore extraction industries, whilst becoming less dependent on oil for the success of their economy. 

Currently Nigeria has an annual steel demand of 6.8million metric tonnes; at the moment the country is producing a level that is 1/3 of that. “About $5 billion will kick-start the mining sector,” solid Minerals Development Minister Kayode Fayemi said, in an interview in his Abuja office on Aug. 10. “In two to five years, we want to have started production of iron ore, lead, zinc, bitumen, nickel, coal and gold at a serious scale.” There has already been some serious consideration in the investment from companies in South-East Asia and Australia. 

Due to the price of Oil going down at a rapid rate on a global scale, Nigeria are being forced to look at alternatives. A barrel of oil in 2014 would have cost just over $100, in today’s market; it will cost just under $50. 

There is still a considerable amount of work to be done before any investments will be made but it is promising to see Nigeria looking at alternatives to boost their economy, rather than relying on one limited resource. 

The mindset of the Nigerian people is perhaps one that should be adopted by other countries who have unutilized rich resources.