Zamfara hopes to build bullion gold reserve from miners’ deposits

he Zamfara State government said it desires to build its bullion reserve steadily in the years ahead after it created a reserve with an initial deposit of 31 kilogrammes of gold bars from the state’s artisanal miners.

Governor Bello Matawalle told journalists in Gusau on Tuesday that the establishment of a gold mine in the state would strengthen the state’s economy and enhance indigenes’ welfare at present and in the future.

“My administration will subsequently continue to buy gold from our local miners so as to gradually improve the reserve.”

The north-western state is ramping up efforts in gold production, with Matawalle presenting bars of locally refined gold to President Muhammadu Buhari in August.

The drive has won the blessing of the president, whose Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative plans to synergise with the state.

“Even though our state, like other states of the federation, is grappling with competing demands from the public and the resources at our disposal are meagre, we feel it is of utmost significance to invest in the future of our people.

“One of the lessons we have learnt from the global COVID-19 pandemic is the lack of resilience of the oil market in the wake of a crisis that affects industrial production,” Matawalle said.

Zamfara has entered a pact with the Central Bank of Nigeria for a gold supply estimated at N5 billion.

The coronavirus pandemic triggered a fall in the state’s internally generated revenue to N7.08 billion in the first half of this year, the statistics office said on Tuesday and Matawlle is now optimistic that the opportunity presented by gold will provide both a chance to diversify the income source and manage the emergency.