Ajaokuta Steel Requires 2.13m Tonnes Iron Ore to Start Production – NIOMCO

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The National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe, Kogi, required about 2.13 million tonnes of iron ore to enable it begin production.

Sole Administrator of NIOMCO, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim, stated this recently at Itekpe while receiving the Minister of Mines and Steel Developmet, Mr Musa Sada.

Ibrahim said that with that quantity of iron ore, the steel company would be able to produce 1.3 million tonnes of steel annually.

He, however, said that for NIOMCO to meet the iron ore need of the steel company’s first phase production, it would need to produce and process seven million tonnes of raw iron ore annually.

He also said that for the steel company to sustain uninterrupted production of steel for some years, NIOMCO needed to stockpile iron ore at its premises and at Ajaokuta.

He, therefore, stressed the need for the iron ore company to begin production of iron concentrates well ahead of commencement of production of steel by Ajaokuta Steel Company.

Ibrahim said the company would only achieve its mandate of providing the basic raw materials for iron and steel production effectively if it was well equipped.

He appealed to the federal government to award contract for the rehabilitation facilities in the plant.

He also called for speedy resolution of the court case between Global Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd and the federal government over the termination of concession agreement on NIOMCO.

In his remark, the minister said that the federal government was doing everything possible to see that NIOMCO resumed production.

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