The vastness of Nigeria’s minerals resources cannot and should not be over emphasized. Nigeria natural and mineral resources sector is one of the largest producers in the world.

There are over forty (40) minerals resources in Nigeria including oil and gas, limestone, marble, gypsum, lithium, silver, granite, gold, gemstones, bentonite, iron ore and so on.

The Nigerian oil and gas sector has played a central role in the Nigerian economy. The revenue realized from the Nigerian petroleum industry has been the country’s fiscal mainstay and remains a major revenue source.

The reality of the recent downward trend of oil prices and its impact on the revenue and foreign reserves of the country however means that it has never been more vital for Nigeria to protect herself by diversifying her revenue streams.

Minerals resources in Nigeria comprises of various substance whether in solid, liquid, or gaseous form and they’re all occurring in different location in Nigeria.

These Minerals resources in Nigeria are formed by or subjected to geological processes including occurrences or deposits of rocks, coal, coal bed gases, bituminous shales, tar sands, any substances that may be extracted from coal, shale or tar sands, mineral water, and mineral components in tailings, and with waste piles but with the exclusion of Petroleum and waters without mineral content.

Challenges Of Mineral Development In Nigeria

- Low metal prices
- Depleted alluvial reserves (of tin and columbite),
- Inefficient State-owned corporations
- Unfavorable mining code
- Opaque and inefficient license administration system
- Prevalence of illegal mining
- Lack of adequate and reliable geoscience data
- Poor Management of the State Enterprise
- Excessive dependence on Petroleum Resources
- Policy Instability
- Lack of Credit and Financing
- Information on Minerals Mined

Current Mining Reform Strategy in Nigeria

- 100% Private sector ownership of Mining
- New Minerals and Mining Act (2007)
- Liberal and transparent access to mining rights
- Strengthening Geoscience data generation
- Competition for mining titles/rights on “first-come, firstserved” basis.
- Removal of discretionary powers of government officialsin mining title grant.
- Security of tenure of mining rights.
- Provision of the principle of “use it or lose it” in miningrights administration.
- Use of time limits for granting titles.
- Mining titles are transferable and amendable.
- Introduction of Community Development Agreement.
- Introduction of Mineral Resources and Environmental
- Management Committee in States to facilitate miningdevelopment

Top 10 Minerals Resources in Nigeria and their Uses

These mineral resources found in Nigeria were bestowed to the country by providence for its benefit and harnessing them has helped to shape the economy of the country are:

1. Petroleum/Crude oil,

Petroleum and Crude Oil goes hand in hand, this was first discovered in Oloibiri, Bayelsa state in 1959. Petroleum is by far the most important mineral available in Nigeria.

About 2.5 million barrels of crude oil is produced per day while the gas reserves is put at 160 Trillion cubic meters.

This large quantity of oil is produced by only 8 States known as the oil producing States located in the Niger Delta Region of the country. These states includes Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Abia and Imo.

Nigeria currently have 4 refineries for refining crude oil though none can be said to be fully functional. These includes 2 in Rivers state, one in Warri that in Delta while the remaining one is in kaduna state.

Petroleum and natural gas goes hand in hand. This means anywhere there is petroleum, crude oil is also present.

Crude oil is the most important mineral resources in Nigeria and the one our economy largely depends on.

2. Gold

Gold is one of the mineral resources in Nigeria that is exploited on a small scale. The exploration of gold is not very dominant and can be found in only in places in States like Sokoto, Zamfara, Oyo, Niger, Kwara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Edo, Ebonyi, Bauchi and Abuja.

Gold need no introduction as a precious mineral. In Nigeria, gold is explored in small scale mostly by local miners and villagers where the gold deposits are located.

In essence, gold exploration is not common and it is done at a small scale mostly in the northern part of the country.

States that have a substantial amount of gold deposit include: Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, Bauchi, Abuja, Oyo, Edo and Ebonyi states respectively.

3. Gypsum

The importance of Gypsum cannot be overemphasised, it is used in the production of cement, plaster of Paris (POP) as well as the classroom chalk among others. About 1 billion tonnes of gypsum deposits are spread across some states in Nigeria.

These includes Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Sokoto.

This is one of the mineral resources in Nigeria that is underutilized yet has a lot of application. It is an important input for the production of cement as well as the production of Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) and the popular classroom chalks.

4. Coal

Coal was first discovered in 1909 at Enugu and exploration of it started at the Ogbete Mine in 1916. The Nigerian coal is one of the best coal in the world owning to low sulphur and ash content making it eco-friendly.

From research, it had been discovered that Nigeria have nearly 3 billion tonnes of indicated coal reserves in 17 identified coal fields. Currently, only over 600 million tonnes of proven reserves are present.

5. Talc

This is one of the mineral resource in Nigeria. It is found in places like Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun and Kaduna states. The current deposit of talc is put at around 40 million tonnes.

The only talc plant in the country is the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)’s 3,000 tonnes per annum catalytic Talc plant in Niger state.

Talc is one of the underutilized mineral resources in Nigeria even with it large deposit of forty million tonnes found in states such as Kaduna, Kogi, Niger, Osun and Ogun. There’s only one talc plant in Nigeria and it is located in Niger state.

The talc plant is the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)’s 3,000 tonnes per annum catalytic Talc plant.

6. Iron ore

Iron ore is another mineral resources in Nigeria with it largest deposit in Itakpe, Kogi state. Aside Kogi, it is also present in Enugu, Niger state and the Federal Capital Territory. About 3 billion metric tonnes of iron ore is said to be present in the country.

The National Iron Ore Mining Company was founded in 1979 in order to explore and provide this iron ore to the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Ajaokuta and Delta Steel Company in Aladja.

This company cannot be said to have keep to it misson and the two steel companies are even nln-functional.

7. Lead/Zinc

An estimated 10 million tonnes of lead/zinc veins are spread over Abia, Abuja, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kano, Niger, Plateau and Taraba. Proven reserves in 3 prospects in the east-central area are put at 5 million tonnes waiting for investors to benefit from it.

An estimated 10 million tonnes of lead/zinc veins are spread over 8 states of Nigeria.

These states where lead and zinc can be found in Nigeria include: Abia state, Abuja, Akwa Ibom state, Anambra state, Benue state, Bayelsa state, Cross River state, Enugu state, Ebonyi state, Kano state, Niger state, Plateau and Taraba states.

Proven reserves in 3 prospects in the east-central area are 5 million tonnes.

8. Bentonite and Baryte

Bentonite and Baryte are the main constituents of the mud used in the drilling of all types of oil wells. Currently, over 700 million tonnes of Bentonite is spread across Adamawa, Borno and Plateau state.

On the other hand, over 7.5 million tonnes of baryte have been identified in Taraba and Bauchi States. These are the main constituents of the mud used in the drilling of all types of oil wells. In Nigeria, the baryte has specific gravity of about 4.3.

9. Gemstones

Gemstones are one of the important mineral resources in Nigeria found and exploited heavily in Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi.

Sapphire, ruby, aquamarine, emerald, tourmaline, topaz, garnet, amethyst; zircon, and flourspar are some of the Gemstones in these areas and are regarded as part of the best in the world.

Gemstones mining have boomed in various parts of Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi states for years.

Some of these gemstones include sapphire, ruby, aquamarine, emerald, tourmaline, topaz, garnet, amethyst; zircon, and flourspar which are among the world’s best.

10. Bitumen

This mineral resources was first discovered in 1900 and the exploration started in 1905. The Bitumen reserves in the Nigeria is twice the volume of the existing crude oil in the country. It is put at 42 billion tonnes.

The irony of it however is, this large reserves are not been exploited and most of the bitumen used in road constructions are imported. States you can find this includes Lagos State, Ogun State, Ondo State, and Edo State.

List of Minerals Resources in Nigeria and their Locations

Nigeria top the list of countries in Africa with a wide variety of different natural and minerals resources.

The country is richly endowed with natural and minerals resources. The minerals resources in Nigeria is ranging from crude oil, industrial metals to various precious stones such as Barites, Gypsum, Kaolin and Marble.

Most of these minerals are yet to be exploited. Statistically, the level of exploitation of these minerals is very low in relation to the extent of deposit found in the country. Here’s the list of minerals resources in Nigeria and their locations.

1. Abia State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Abia include:

- Gold
- Salt
- Limestone
- Lead
- Zinc
- Crude Oil

2. Abuja Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Abuja include:

- Marble
- Clay
- Tantalite
- Cassiterite
- Gold (this is partially investigated)
- Lead /Zinc (Found in traces)
- Dolomite

3. Adamawa State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Adamawa include:

- Kaolin
- Bentonite
- Gypsum
- Magnesite

4. Akwa Ibom State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Akwa Ibom include:

- Lead
- Zinc
- Clay
- Limestone
- Uranium (Found in traces)
- Salt
- Lignite (Found in traces)

5. Anambra State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Anambra include:

- Lead
- Zinc
- Clay
- Limestone
- Iron-Ore
- Lignite (This is partially investigated)
- Salt
- Glass-Sand
- Phosphate
- Gypsum
- Crude Oil

6. Bayelsa State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Bayelsa include:

- Clay
- Limestone
- Gypsum (This is partially investigated)
- Uranium (This is partially investigated)
- Manganese
- Lignite
- Lead (Found in traces)
- Zinc (Found in traces)

7. Bauchi State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Bauchi include:

- Amethyst (violet)
- Gypsum
- Lead (Found in traces)
- Zinc (Found in traces)
- Uranium (This is partially investigated)

8. Benue State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Benue include:

- Lead
- Zinc
- Limestone
- Iron-Ore
- Coal
- Clay
- Marble
- Salt
- Barites (Found in traces)
- Gemstones
- Gypsum

9. Borno State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Borno include:

- Diatomite
- Clay
- Limestone
- Hydrocarbons (This is partially investigated)
- Gypsum
- Kaolin
- Bentonite

10. Cross River State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Cross River include:

- Limestone
- Uranium
- Manganese
- Lignite
- Lead
- Zinc
- Salt
- Crude Oil

11. Delta State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Delta include:

- Marble
- Glass Sand
- Gypsum
- Lignite
- Iron-Ore
- Kaolin

12. Ebonyi State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Ebonyi include:

- Lead
- Gold (partially investigated)
- Salt

13. Edo State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Edo include:

- Marble
- Lignite
- Clay
- Limestone
- Iron Ore
- Gypsum
- Glass Sand
- Gold
- Dolomite
- Phosphate
- Bitumen
- Crude Oil

14. Ekiti State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Ekiti include:

- Kaolin
- Feldspar
- Titanium
- Granite
- Syenite

15. Enugu State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Enugu include:

- Coal
- Limestone
- Lead
- Zinc

16. Gombe State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Gombe include:

- Gemstone
- Gypsum

17. Imo State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Imo include:

- Lead
- Zinc
- Limestone
- Lignite
- Phosphate
- Marcasite
- Gypsum
- Salt
- Crude Oil

18. Jigawa State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Jigawa include: Butytes

19. Kaduna State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Kaduna include:

- Sapphire
- Kaolin
- Gold
- Clay
- Serpentinite
- Asbestos
- Amethyst
- Kyanite
- Graphite (This is partially investigated)
- Selenite
- Mica (Found in traces)
- Aquamarine
- Ruby
- Rock Crystal
- Topaz
- Copper
- Tourmaline
- Gemstone
- Tantalum

20. Kano State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Kano include:

- Cassiterite
- Copper
- Glass
- Sand
- Gemstone
- Lead
- Zinc
- Tantalite

21. Kastina State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Katsina include:

- Kaolin
- Marble
- Salt

22. Kebbi State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Kebbi include: Gold

23. Kogi State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Kogi include:

- Iron-Ore
- Kaolin
- Gypsum
- Feldspar
- Coal
- Marble
- Dolomite
- Talc
- Tantalite

24. Kwara State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Kwara include:

- Gold
- Marble
- Iron-Ore
- Cassiterite
- Columbite
- Tantalite
- Feldspar (found in traces)
- Mica (Found in traces)

25. Lagos State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Lagos include:

- Glass Sand
- Clay
- Bitumen
- Crude Oil

26. Nasarawa State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Nasarawa include:

- Beryl
- Aquamarine
- Heliodor
- Dolomite
- Marble
- Sapphire
- Tourmaline
- Quartz
- Amethyst
- Zircon
- Tantalite
- Cassiterite
- Columbite
- Lamanite
- Galena
- Iron-Ore
- Barites
- Feldspar
- Limestone
- Mica
- Cooking Coal
- Talc
- Clay
- Salt
- Chalcopyrite

27. Niger State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Niger include:

- Gold
- Talc
- Lead
- Zinc

28. Ogun State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Ogun include:

- Phosphate
- Clay
- Feldspar (Found in traces)
- Kaolin
- Limestone
- Gemstone
- Bitumen

30. Ondo State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Ondo include:

- Bitumen
- Kaolin
- Gemstone
- Gypsum
- Feldspar
- Granite
- Clay
- Glass Sand
- Dimension Stones
- Limestone
- Coal
- Crude Oil

31. Osun State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Osun include:

- Gold
- Talc
- Tourmaline
- Columbite
- Granite

32. Oyo State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Oyo include:

- Kaolin
- Marble
- Clay
- Sillimanite
- Talc
- Gold
- Cassiterite
- Aquamarine
- Dolomite
- Gemstone
- Tantalite

33. Pleteau State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources in Plateau include:

- Emerald
- Tin
- Marble
- Granite
- Tantalite
- Lead
- Zinc
- Barites
- Iron-Ore
- Kaolin
- Belonite
- Cassiterite
- Pyrochlore
- Clay
- Coal
- Wolfram
- Salt
- Bismuth
- Fluoride
- Molybdenum
- Gemstone
- Bauxite

34. Rivers State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Rivers include:

- Glass Sand
- Clay
- Marble
- Lignite (Found in traces)
- Crude Oil

35. Sokoto State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Sokoto include:

- Kaolin
- Gold
- Limestone
- Phosphate
- Gypsum
- Silica Sand
- Clay
- Laterite
- Potash
- Granite
- Gold
- Salt

36. Taraba State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Taraba include:

- Kaolin
- Lead
- Zinc

37. Yobe State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Yobe include:

- Tintomite
- Soda Ash (This is partially Investigated)

38. Zamfara State Minerals Resources.

Mineral resources found in Zamfara include:

- Coal
- Gold

State with Highest Mineral Resources in Nigeria.

Plateau is the state in Nigeria that has the most mineral deposits followed by Kaduna state and Nasarawa state. Plateau state has 22 recorded mineral resources, the highest so far while the later has 20 each.

Others such as Sokoto, Taraba, Oyo, Ondo states are not left out. The states with the lowest number of mineral resources are Kebi state with Gold as its only recorded solid mineral deposit, Gombe state with two natural deposit, Yobe state (2), Zamfara state (3), Enugu state (3) and Kastina state (3).

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