Ministry to launch made-in-Nigeria barite soon – Minister

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, says the ministry will soon launch the made in Nigeria barite.

Adegbite made this known when he received Mr Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), on Friday in Abuja.

The minister, in a statement by Mrs Etore Thomas, Director Press of the ministry, said that the ministry has succeeded in achieving the development of barite from extraction.

He said that the ministry also achieved success in milling and bagging stages of barite to support local industries and for export.

According to him, effort is being made to update and upgrade ICT infrastructure to enable the ministry connect its 10 agencies.

Adegbite said the upgrading would ensure that all data of royalties paid and funds received were properly monitored and uploaded to the Ministry’s server for online access.

Also, the Minster of State, Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, appreciated NEITI for the visit.

Ogah noted that the collaboration between the Ministry and NEITI would ensure that mining accruals were transparently monitored.

Earlier, Orji said his visit was to deepen relationship with the Ministry and share data that would enable the organisation report its activities accurately and transparently.

Orji said that “the Ministry has data NEITI can rely on”, adding that sharing information and data with NEITI would attract investors as well as build confidence in the mining sector.

He therefore, requested that the ministry’s website be updated regularly to enable investors get the reliable information.