Nigeria’s first gold refinery plans to triple capacity in five years
Nigeria’s first gold refinery is expected to more than triple its capacity within five years after operations begin in June 2019, an executive at the company developing it said on Tuesday. Nere Teriba, vice-chair of local firm Kian Smith Trade & Co, said the refinery would initially be able to produce three tons of gold and one ton of silver per month, rising to 10 tons a month of gold and three tons of silver in five years. Nigeria has largely untapped deposits of 44 minerals, which include gold, iron ore, coal, tin and zinc, in more than 500 locations spread across Africa’s most populous nation. But most of the mining is artisanal and the absence of gold refineries means value typically has not been added in the supply chain. Construction workers broke ground at the refinery site in the southwestern state of Ogun last week. Teriba said work was expected to be completed by the end of February 2019 and production would start by the end of June. “It is a five-year expansion plan to g...
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