Says first commercial transaction added $5m foreign reserves

President commends ministry’s major milestone in administration’s drive to diversify economy

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the latest gold bars sourced from artisanal and small gold miners and refined by an agency of the Ministry,  Solid Minerals Development Fund, to meet the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Standard.

At the presentation at the State House Abuja, Alake praised President Tinubu for supporting reforms in the solid minerals sector, assuring that the National Gold Purchase programme will increase the country’s reserve and boost the naira’s value.

Alake said the refined gold would be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria to bolster foreign reserves.

He said the presentation marked the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Program (NGPP), the centralised offtake scheme supported by a decentralised aggregation and production network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives.

“The successful completion of the first commercial transaction clearly demonstrates the  National Gold Purchase Program’s effectiveness. It has increased the nation’s foreign  reserves assets and shown that using the Nigerian Naira to purchase a liquid asset traded  in United States Dollars, such as gold, is a viable strategy. This transaction has also  underscored the potential of the National Gold Purchase Program to enhance fiscal and  monetary stability,” the minister said.

Alake said the first commercial transaction had delivered +US$5 million increase in Nigerian’s foreign reserves assets, 70+ kilograms of gold refined to the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard and successful aggregation of locally mined gold thereby injecting about NGN6 billion into the rural economy.

Receiving and displaying a symbolic bar, President Tinubu commended the Ministry for achieving a major milestone in the administration’s drive to diversify the economy.

“This is another concrete step towards the diversification process under the Renewed Hope Agenda” the President said.

Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund, Fatimah Shinkafi, in her presentation said the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard was the globally recognised stringent and trusted standard that enables the global trade in gold and silver bars.

“Only gold and silver bars that meet our Good Delivery standards are acceptable in the settlement of a Loco London contract – where the bullion traded is physically held in London,” she said.

Shinkafi said through the efforts of the National Gold Purchase Program under the Ministry of Solid  Minerals Development, Nigeria had joined a select group of countries bolstering their gold  reserves by purchasing gold in local currency to foster economic confidence, enhance  currency stability, and create a more attractive environment for foreign investment.