The sales have contributed a $5 million increase to Nigeria’s foreign reserves, with over 70 kilograms of gold refined to the London Bullion Market Good Delivery Standard. This transaction has successfully aggregated locally mined gold, injecting about N6 billion into the rural economy.

Minister Alake presented the latest gold bar, sourced from artisanal and small gold miners and refined by the Solid Minerals Development Fund, to President Bola Tinubu over the weekend. In a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, Alake noted that the refined gold would be sold to the Central Bank of Nigeria to further bolster foreign reserves.

Nigeria is estimated to have about 600,000 tonnes of gold reserves, worth approximately $45 billion, located in various states including Zamfara and Edo. However, illegal mining activities have diverted substantial resources from public benefit into private hands.

In response to the illegal mining crisis, former President Muhammadu Buhari declared Zamfara State a ‘no-fly zone’ three years ago to curb these activities. At the gold presentation event, Alake commended President Tinubu for his support of reforms in the solid minerals sector, assuring that the National Gold Purchase Programme would increase the country’s reserves and strengthen the naira.

Alake explained to President Tinubu that this event marked the first commercial transaction under the National Gold Purchase Programme. This programme is a centralized offtake scheme supported by a decentralized network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives.

“The successful completion of the first commercial transaction demonstrates the National Gold Purchase Programme’s effectiveness," Alake stated. "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 Programme to enhance fiscal and monetary stability.”