See The huge amount of Nigeria’s Gold Sale, That makes President Tinubu to celebrate
Nigeria has achieved a significant milestone with the commercial sale of raw gold at the London Bullion Market Association, as announced by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on Sunday.
Alake revealed that this sale has contributed a $5 million increase to Nigeria’s foreign reserves. The transaction involved over 70 kilograms of gold refined to the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard, injecting approximately N6 billion into the rural economy through the aggregation of locally mined gold.
The announcement was made during the weekend when Alake presented the latest gold bar, sourced from artisanal and small-scale miners and refined by the Solid Minerals Development Fund, to President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, Alake mentioned that the refined gold would be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria to further bolster the nation’s foreign reserves.
Nigeria is estimated to have around 600,000 tonnes of gold reserves, worth approximately $45 billion, located in various states including Zamfara and Edo. However, illegal mining activities have diverted significant resources from the public to private hands.
Three years ago, former President Muhammadu Buhari declared Zamfara State a ‘no-fly zone’ to combat illegal gold mining.
At the event, Alake praised President Tinubu for supporting reforms in the solid minerals sector, assuring that the National Gold Purchase Program would enhance the country’s reserves and strengthen the naira.
Explaining the significance of the event to President Tinubu, Alake said it marked the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Program, a centralized offtake scheme supported by a decentralized network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives.
He stated, “The successful completion of this first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Program has increased the nation’s foreign reserves and demonstrated the effectiveness of using the Nigerian Naira
