The Federal Government has announced the signing of an Express of Interest with La Mancha, a Luxembourg-incorporated private gold development & mining company to begin gold mining operations in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement by the FG on Saturday. Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, Minister of State for Mining signed the deal on behalf of Nigeria with Chairman of La Mancha, Naguib Sawiris, in Cairo, Egypt.
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La Mancha, a Luxembourg-Incorporated Private Gold Development & Mining Company has signed an Expression of Interest Agreement with @fmmsdngr to invest in gold mining in Nigeria, in a ceremony coordinated by the Egyptian African Arab Co. for Devpt (EGAAD) in Cairo, Egypt. #Thread pic.twitter.com/tq6fgYUXwO
— Government of Nigeria (@NigeriaGov) November 28, 2020
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The Chairman, La Mancha, Naguib Sawiris, disclosed that the signing of the document was its way of formally expressing the company’s interest to begin earnest operations in Nigeria.
He stated that “La Mancha was continually looking at new opportunities to expand its investment in Gold Mining across Africa, adding that Nigeria possessed enough gold deposits to attract investment.”
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Dr. Ogah said the partnership with La Mancha and other mining companies including Endeavour Mining, Golden Star Resources, and with a market capital in excess of US$10bn will benefit Nigeria immensely.
“Our ultimate goal is to attract investors with the technical and financial competence to invest in our solid minerals sector, from detailed exploration to mining, development, processing and refining to producing standard ores in Nigeria,” Ogah said.
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What you should know
Nairametrics reported in August that Nigeria is set to commence gold production in 2021 after the launch of the Segilola Gold Project in Osun state. This was disclosed by the Honourable Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, while taking stock of his first year in office as Minister.
A Nigerian firm, Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, formerly Japaul Oil and Maritime Services also announced this month that it will partner with H&H Mines Limited to mine gold.
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The FG also disclosed earlier this year that two new gold refineries have been licensed by the Federal Government of Nigeria to begin producing the special metal for export.
