Economy

Construction of Nigeria’s First Gold Refinery Begins in Ogun

Published

7 years ago

13/12/2018

History was made in Nigeria on Thursday, as the country celebrated the ground breaking of its first gold refinery by the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Mr Abubakar Bawa Bwari.

The refinery, being developed by indigenous minerals company Kian Smith Trade & Co Ltd. (Kian Smith) in Ogun State, is scheduled to start production in 2019, sourcing most of its ore from miners in the country.

“The present administration is determined to develop the mining sector to act as a catalyst for sustainable economic growth of the country,” said Mr Bwari at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Part of our marching orders in the Mines and Steel Development ministry is that we are expected to develop the sector to increase its contribution to the nation’s GDP, improve its capacity to create jobs and engender sustainable mining,” the minister added, stressing that it was in keeping with his ministry’s mandate that a roadmap was developed for the growth and development of the mining sector.

“During the focus labs of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this administration, we discovered that a well organised gold value chain can trigger an economic revolution like it did in India, South Africa, Switzerland and others,” he said further. He noted that the ministry has continued to work in this light to develop a gold value chain for the country.

The refinery will start with a production capacity of 3 tonnes per month of 99.99% gold and 1 ton per month production of 99.99% silver.

“We will be supplying the Central Bank, the Jewellery and the Electronic Industry,” said Nere Teriba Vice Chairman of Kian Smith at the groundbreaking ceremony. “We have already secured a significant monthly supply of gold from Zamfara, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Ilesha and about 100kg per month from other parts of Africa. We are presently finalizing supply agreements and terms from suppliers in Kano. Next week, we will be securing supply from Kogi State,” she added.

According to Teriba, the refinery when completed will provide more than 500,000 jobs in two years as it continues to support its suppliers in their bid to become registered business entities in the mining sector.

“There’s at presently at least 1,000,000 unregistered business participants in the Nigerian market (considering gold miners, sponsors, dealers, processors, aggregators and gold-workers). The formalization, organization and development we bring to the value chain will provide quick wins to the Nigerian economy,” Teriba said.

Also speaking, Governor of Ogun State, Mr Ibikunle Amosu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Adepeju Adebajo, expressed enthusiasm about the refinery project which she said was in line with the state government’s industrialization plan.

According to her, the project is a major boost to the Nigerian mining sector. “Apart from the fact that the strengthening of our mining industry will reduce importation of refined products, it will go a long way in affirming our country’s status as a world mining power.” The vice chairman of Kian Smith Nere Teriba said the refinery will be ready to start production by the end of the first half of 2019.

Economy

Stock Market Gives up N34bn Despite Strong Investor Sentiment

Published

6 hours ago

11/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bearish outcome for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Wednesday due to persistent profit-taking.

The local bourse shed 0.05 per cent at midweek as investors tread cautiously, causing the All-Share Index (ASI) to contract by 78.28 points to 146,862.01 points from 146,940.29 points, with the market capitalisation giving up N34 billion to settle at N93.625 trillion compared with the previous day’s N93.659 trillion.

Chams ended the trading day as the worst-performing stock after it lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N3.06, Haldane McCall declined by 8.88 per cent to N4.00, UAC Nigeria slumped by 8.18 per cent to N80.80, and Sunu Assurance moderated by 6.98 per cent to N4.00.

The best-performing stock for the session was Japaul due to its 10.00 per cent rise, closing at N2.53. Prestige Assurance expanded by 9.40 per cent to N1.63, MeCure inflated by 7.72 per cent to N34.90, The Initiates rose by 7.30 per cent to N12.50, and Consolidated Hallmark gained 6.97 per cent to close at N4.30.

Business Post observed that despite the loss, the market breadth index was positive after Customs Street finished with 28 price gainers and 23 price losers, implying a strong investor sentiment.

The most traded equity was Cutix with 122.9 million units sold for N369.1 million, FCMB exchanged 80.7 million units worth N879.3 million, Consolidated Hallmark transacted 71.2 million units valued at N286.4 million, Fidelity Bank traded 63.8 million units worth N1.2 billion, and Tantalizers had a turnover of 57.8 million units valued at N136.5 million.

In all, investors bought and sold 747.1 million shares for N12.4 billion in 19,161 deals versus the 2.0 billion shares worth N30.2 billion executed in 23,038 deals on Tuesday, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 62.65 per cent, 58.94 per cent, and 16.83 per cent, respectively.

Economy

Naira Weakens 0.24% to N1,455/$1 at NAFEX on Yuletide Demand Pressure

Published

6 hours ago

11/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.52 or o.24 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to N1,455.38/$1 on Wednesday, December 8, from the N1,451.86/$1 it was traded a day earlier.

It was a similar story for the local currency against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday as its value shrank by N2.51 to close at N1,937.26/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,934.75/£1 and lost N1.63 against the Euro to settle at N1,692.76/€1 compared with Tuesday’s closing value of N1,691.13/€1.

In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against the greenback yesterday by N5 to sell for N1,470/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,465/$1 but traded flat at N1,460/$1 at GTBank.

The domestic currency faces pressures from increasing year-end Dollar demand as importers and retailers are actively sourcing FX for Christmas and New Year’s sales.

However, this is still stable, reflecting divergent currency dynamics between the regulated official segment and the informal markets as the Naira’s movement remains within the trading band.

This suggests that the FX market is adjusting gradually to seasonal pressures while awaiting further policy signals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market tumbled despite the Federal Reserve’s decision to trim its fed funds rate range by 25 basis points. Traders were spooked by comments by Federal Reserve’s chairman Jerome Powell who sounded both dovish and hawkish.

While the rate cut is largely anticipated by market participants, looser financial conditions with a resilient US economy could help bolster risk appetite on markets. According to Mr Powell, the US labour market might be weaker than previously thought, while also sounding cautious about gains made in fighting inflation.

Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 7.0 per cent to $0.4311, Solana (SOL) fell by 5.9 per cent to $131.06, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.6 per cent to $0.1385, Litecoin (LTC) crashed by 3.9 per cent to $81.26, and Ripple (XRP) declined by 3.7 per cent to $2.01.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) moderated by 3.4 per cent to $3,209.84, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 2.6 per cent to $871.20, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 2.5 per cent to sell at $90,316.82, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Crude Oil Prices Rise as US Seizes Oil Tanker in Venezuelan Waters

Published

6 hours ago

11/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil prices settled higher on Wednesday as the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, adding to concerns about immediate supplies, with Brent futures up by 27 cents or 0.4 per cent to $62.21 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures up by 21 cents or 0.4 per cent to $58.46 per barrel.

The American government seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a major escalation in tensions between the two nations.

President Donald Trump confirmed the operation, saying, “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually,” adding later that the US will keep the oil.

The US Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Information (FBI), and Homeland Security, executed a seizure warrant, boarding the tanker by helicopter. The vessel, identified by maritime sources as the Panama-flagged Skipper (formerly named Adisa), had been under US sanctions for several years for its alleged role in transporting Venezuelan and Iranian crude via a shadow oil-shipping network tied to Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

According to tracking data, the tanker had recently loaded heavy crude at Venezuela’s Puerto José.

In Caracas, the government of President Nicolás Maduro condemned the seizure, branding it “a blatant theft” and an act of “international piracy.”

The tanker seizure further inflames concerns about immediate supplies in a market that was already worried about movements of Venezuelan, Iranian and Russian barrels.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, which could help lift oil demand by boosting economic growth.

The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Mr Jerome Powell declined to say whether there would be another rate cut in the near future, but said the central bank is well positioned to respond to what lies ahead for the economy.

Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 1.8 million barrels during the week ending December 5, after adding a modest 600,000 barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.

The EIA’s data release follows figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories fell by 4.8 million barrels.