Do you know that Nigeria is blessed with over 34 natural deposits? And do you also know Nigeria loses 50 trillion nairas yearly from unutilized resources?
If Nigeria is to utilize all its natural deposits, the country ought to have been one of the wealthiest nations, not only in Africa but in the whole world.
Nevertheless, Nigeria is still making utilizing her crude oil. But that should not be the reason for not utilizing other natural deposits.
Natural Resources in Nigeria
These natural deposits are found in different parts of Nigeria.
Some regions in Nigeria make use of their mineral deposits to generate revenue. Thereby improving the GDP of such regions as well as creating business opportunities.
If you’re interested in knowing the different natural deposits that Nigeria is endowed with, then you read through this article. Right now, we shall be looking at some natural deposits in Nigeria, and the regions where those deposits can be found.
So, here are some natural wealth sites in Nigeria.
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Gold
It’s not going to be a surprise that most Nigerians don’t know about the presence of gold in the country. Certainly, that’s not their fault. The Nigerian government has not channeled its attention towards gold.
As a result, it has been lying down without any form of exploration. If Nigeria can mine her gold, the government can generate up to 8 trillion nairas annually.
Some regions where gold can be found in Nigeria include some parts of Zamfara, Kaduna, Edo, Niger, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Kwara, Bauchi, and Abuja.
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Granite
Granite is another natural deposit found in Nigeria.
It’s one of the major raw materials for the construction of roads, bridges, buildings, and many more. Because granite is in abundance in some parts of Nigeria, several construction companies find their way into the country.
Some of the regions in Nigeria with granite include part of Ekiti, Abuja, and Cross River. These are basically the regions with large quantities of Granite in Nigeria.
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Coal
Coal is one of the greatest natural deposits in Nigeria.
Nigerian coal is ranked among the first ten best coal in the world. That’s because Nigerian coal contains sulfur which does not affect the ecosystem.
Moreover, this natural wealth could have been an additional source of fuel in Nigeria. Do you know why? That ‘because coal can be used to generate electricity. But that’s not all; it is used in producing steel, paper, and so on.
Some areas where you can find coal in a larger quantity include part of Delta, Benue, Plateau, and Kwara.
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Silver
Nigeria is also endowed with Silver. But it’s not a well utilize deposit, and it is found in some specific locations within the country. This silver mostly is found in northern Nigeria.
In places like Kano, Ebonyi, and Taraba
Nigeria could have made a lot of income from this natural deposit if it was explored.
That’s because manufacturing industries can make use of it to produce beautiful items like jewelry, currencies, electrical conductors, and many more.
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Crude Oil
This natural deposit is well utilized in Nigeria.
In fact, Nigeria solely depends on crude oil. Right from when crude oil was discovered, the government abandons virtually every other natural deposit and focuses on crude oil.
That’s because huge money is generated from crude oil.
Some extracts can be obtained from crude oil when refined. These include petrol, kerosene, diesel, and gas.
Crude oil is majorly found in the Niger-delta regions. These regions consist of Delta, Cross River, Imo, Bayelsa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Rivers state.
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Limestone
Limestone is among the non-renewable natural deposits in Nigeria. It is well utilized by some locals and other manufacturing industries due to its numerous uses.
For that reason, it has attracted the attention of most producing factories into such regions, because there are large portions of limestone.
Some parts of Nigeria with a great portion of limestone consist of Benue, Bayelsa, Enugu, Borno, Bauchi, Anambra, Edo, Ogun, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, and Imo.
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Bitumen
Bitumen is one of Nigeria’s major natural deposits. It’s a waste product gotten as a result of distillation in petroleum.
According to some experts in the oil industry, over 13 billion barrels of oil can be extracted from bitumen. That’s the more reason, Nigeria keeps exploring these natural deposits.
You can find bitumen in a larger quantity in Nigeria in places like Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, and Edo state.
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Iron Ore
If they’re grading the purest iron ore in the world, Nigerian iron ore will definitely be one of them.
This is to tell you that the country has a valuable natural deposit on the ground. Although quite a lot of industries are making good use of this natural deposit.
For example, steel factories in Aladja and Ajoakuta.
This mineral resource is found in part of Bauchi, Edo, Benue, Anambra, Nasarawa, Delta, Kwara, and Plateau state.
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Columbite
This is another notable natural deposit in Nigeria.
It is used for transmitting radio waves at a higher speed. Apart from that, they are also used for the formation of alloys. This alloy is what is used for making aerospace, gas turbine, and other nuclear engineering products.
Locations where you can find this columbite include part of Plateau, Borno, Adamawa, Kwara, Kano, Abuja, and Nasarawa state.
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Gypsum
Gypsum is a soft natural deposit that is more of a whit-grayish hue.
But you can as well spot some gypsum in other colors like red, brown, pink, blue, and yellow. About 1 billion tonnes of gypsum can be extracted in Nigeria.
Gypsum is a well-explored natural deposit in Nigeria. Several manufacturing industries make good use of this deposit to manufacture stuff like fertilizer, chalk, plaster of Paris, and so on.
Regions in Nigeria where gypsum can be found include Gombe, Ondo, Sokoto, Delta, Edo, Imo, and Kogi state.
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Gemstones
These are highly valued precious stones all over the world.
This is a natural deposit that Nigeria is blessed with, in high abundance. You can virtually find these precious stones in several parts of Nigeria.
Some of these regions include Kaduna, Nasarawa, Osun, Benue, Ogun, Bauchi, Kano, and Plateau state.
Examples of these precious stones you can find in these regions we’ve just mentioned consist of, diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, tourmaline, benitoite, garnet, topaz, zircon, and many more.
If we are to discuss all the natural deposits in Nigeria, a whole day won’t be enough. The ones we just mentioned above are a few out of many available natural deposits in Nigeria.
If all of these deposits were to be explored, Nigeria will generate an unimaginable amount of money.
Sadly enough, just a few of them are utilized.