Ondo Govt. to collaborate with investors in exploiting mineral resources

Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State says his administration will collaborate with genuine investors for exploitation of the abundant mineral resources in the state.

Akeredolu spoke while hosting officials of the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG) in Akure on Tuesday.

The governor said his administration had successfully secured licenses for the exploitations of some mineral resources.

“At the moment, we have four or five licenses on bitumen. Southwest Bitumen is currently utilising its license, though it is being hampered by transport logistics to move its imported heavy duty equipment to site.

“It has to wait until our barges are ready to move them from the Lagos ports through our waterways,” he said.

Akeredolu said his administration was conscious of the vast mineral endowments of the state like bitumen, tar sand, gas, granite, silica and dimension stones.

He assured of the unrelenting efforts of the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency to get serious investors for exploration and exploitation of minerals.

The governor expressed happiness that the OFL-Marble and Granite Limited in Afo commissioned in 2018 had been doing well by producing granite with the largest number of natural colours in the country.

Akeredolu said efforts were on to get titles for dimension stones in Supare Akoko while the dead Oluwa Glass would soon come back to life upon the procurement of a fresh license for a new investor.

He decried the illegal mining of gold in some parts of the state, adding that his administration would ensure that nothing of such happened again, to make the state benefit from all its resources.

Earlier, the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of COMEG, Prof. Zaccheaus Opafunso expressed readiness of the council to provide technical assistance to the state in the development of minerals.

Opafunso said the state would need to get titles for its minerals to ward off illegal miners saying the mining sub-sector was a better source of income for the Nigerian economy.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that COMEG was in the state for a five-day workshop on internationally recognised mineral reporting standards.