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ABSTRACT
With the advent of crude oil in Nigeria, solid minerals exploration and exploitation, as well as agriculture, have been relegated to the background. There is however no doubt that crude oil is the mainstay of Nigeria's economy. The solid mineral, baryte, is of a strategic importance to the oil and gas industry. There is no doubt therefore that the Azara baryte exploitation holds a promise for the future of Nasarawa State. In view of this realistic position, the economic viability of solid minerals as a veritable alternative income for Nasarawa State, with a particular reference to baryte exploration in Azara can not be over emphasized. This research is an expository in that direction.
INTRODUCTION
Nasarawa State, known by its sobriquet as "Home of Solid Minerals", was created out of old Plateau State on October 1, 1996, by the General Sani Abacha military regime. It is made up of thirteen local government areas, with Lafia as the administrative seat of the state. It is located in the Middle Belt zone of Nigeria and lies between latitude 7 and 9 degrees north and longitude 7 and 10 degrees east. It shares common boundaries with Benue State to the south, Kogi State to the west, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, to the north-west. To the north is Kaduna State; while to the east is Taraba State. It has a population of 1,207,876. (1991 census). The people are hospitable and accommodating and have cultural and traditional affinity with each other. Christianity, Islam, and Traditional religion exist side by side among the people. The landmass is blessed with rich soil and the climate conditions which favours the abundant production of food crops. The state is also endowed with solid mineral deposits like gemstones, clay, baryte, granite, etc.
Some of these solid minerals are found in each of the thirteen local government areas of the state. Akwanga Local Government Area has cassiterite, clay, columbite, feldspars, gemstones, ziroon, mica, and granite. Awe Local Government Area is endowed with baryte, clay, limestone, sodium chloride, sphaterite and gulena. Doma Local Government Area is richly blessed with silica sand and clay. Karu Local Government Area has clay, Silica Sand, and granite. Keffi Local Government Area is blessed with clay, talc, gemstones, quartz, mica and granite. Lafia Local Government Area has clay and silica sand. Nasarawa Local Government Area has Cassiterite, columbite, clay, granite and tantalite. Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area is endowed with clay, feldspars, quartz and cassiterite. Obi Local Government Area is richly blessed with clay, coal, and barites. Toto Local Government Area has marble, iron ore, dolomite and clay. Wamba Local Government Area is blessed with quartz, clay, gemstone and granite. Keane Local Government Area has sodium chloride, clay, and limestone. These statistics is courtesy of Nasarawa State Government Big Exercise Book by Abdullahi Adamu (Sarkin Yakin Keffi).
Baryte is a combination of barium and sulphur. In its natural form, baryte is composed of barium sulphate. It is represented in the elemental description as BaSo4 that is because its principal constituent's elements are baryon (BaO) 32.50% and sulphur (51.10%). It is a non metallic (heavy) mineral which belongs to the variety of caulk. It generally appears whitish or crystalline at outcrop scale. There is however traces of yellow and brown patches which are noticeable in hand specimen. As a dense mineral that it is, baryte is mixed with other minerals and chemicals in the preparation of building mud for drilling mud in the oil and gas industry.
There are basically two broad grades of barytes. They are the high specific gravity grade (High S.G.) and low specific gravity grades (Low S.G). These grades are commonly called high grades and low grades, respectively. The grades are measured in specific gravity unit of measurement and that can be done in laboratories. A grade falling below 4.O (S.G.) is classified as low grade baryte, whereas a grade that rises above, between, 4.2 (S.G.) and 4.5 (S.G.) is classified as high grade. The high grade is that which suits the oil and gas industry. Little wonder it is of higher demand and attracts higher cost. For example, at Azara site, the low grade sells for between two thousand naira (N 2000) and three thousand naira (N 3000) for a metric tonne, whereas the high grade sells for five thousand naira (N 5000) for a metric tonne. At Port Harcourt, the price is remarkably higher as a metric tonne of high grade baryte sells for about twenty thousand naira (N 20,000). This is apparently because there are both the processing factories and the refineries there. This product could also be locally processed and sold as finished product for delivering to refineries in Nigeria and abroad. It is particularly interesting to know that a metric tonne of finished product sells for one hundred and twenty thousand naira (N 120, 000) (Courtesy of Nigeria Baryte Mining and Processing Company Limited, NBMPC Ltd.)This is an area which, I considered, should interest the government and people of Nasarawa State.
HISTORY AND PROFILE OF AZARA BARYTE:
Baryte was first detected in Azara in the early 1960s (Courtesy of Geological Survey of Nigeria, 1965). Exploratory search lasted for about a decade, between 1975 and 1985 by the Nigeria Mining Corporation. The Nigeria Baryte Mining and Processing Company (NBMPC) Ltd., incorporated in 1988, was charged with the exploration and exploitation of baryte in Azara and any part of Nigeria where baryte is found. The (NBMPC) Ltd. is wholly owned by the Nigeria Mining Corporation with its Headquarters in Jos. Initial reconnaissance revealed eighteen (18) veins at areas like Azara, Aloshi, Akiri, Wuse and Keana in Awe Local Government Area. Out of these eighteen (18) veins, detail exploration works were carried out in five (5) and these revealed a total reserve of seven hundred and thirty thousand (730,000) metric tonnes of baryte. Veins 1, 2, 5, 17 and 18 are the five (5) veins in use.
INDUSTRIAL USAGE OF BARYTE
Baryte has a number of economic and industrial usages. It is a solid mineral which has many industrial usages. The more common industrial usages are listed below:
1. It is mixed with other minerals and chemicals and used as an inert volume and weight filler in drilling mud. Its high specific gravity (S.G.) which gives additional weight to the mud helps to prevent blow out during drilling. Major servicing and oil companies in the oil and gas industry in the Niger Delta import baryte for their industrial operations. The Azara baryte is thus invaluable, especially that it has the right mineralogical and geochemical properties needed for drilling operations. The high specific gravity (4.45), which is commonly referred to as the high grade, can be tailored to fit any mud type. It reduces the problem of "Baryte sag," (loss of weighting property).
2. It is also used as weight filler in paper industry. The whitish colour of the Azara baryte and its high specific gravity (S.G.) account for its better use in the paper industry.
3. It is also used in rubber processing industry. It is invaluable in coagulating rubber even in the absence of sulphur which helps in vulcanizing rubber.
4. It is used in the glass manufacturing industry
5. It is used in building asbestos roofs and quality wall paper. As asbestos is increasingly becoming fashionable among Nigeria builders, this opens a new window for those companies to look inward for baryte. The high specific gravity quality and strategic location makes the Azara baryte a better alternative.
6. It is also used in chemical industries for agro-allied applications. For example, it is used in the making of animal feeds, fertilizers, and so on.
7. Recent application in the pharmaceutical companies for drugs has made the search for baryte like the search for the mythical Treasure Island.
8. The transportation and technical cost of exploiting Azara deposit is comparatively lower than that of importing the commodity from abroad. This will greatly save the country some foreign exchange, while, at the same time, developing local economic. Little wonder that the government has rightly banned the importation of baryte into the country thereby boosting local production and generating employment and general happiness.
9. It is on record, based on more recent estimate, that there is a total reserve of about seven hundred and thirty thousand (73,000) tonnes of baryte to be found in only five of the thirteen veins discovered at Azara. This report is courtesy of the Project Manager, NBMPC Ltd, Azara, given on the 13th of July, 2005. It should be noted however that 96% of Azara baryte is used by the oil and gas industry as oil-well stabilizer. On the whole, there should be reserves of over a hundred thousand tonnes of high quality barytes at Azara, where about 18 veins measuring about 2m x 1000m are being mined under the supervision of the Nigeria Mining Corporation.
ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF BARYTE
1. EMPLOYMENT PROVISION
There is no gain saying the fact that the discovering of baryte in Azara has greatly helped Nasarawa State in the eradication of unemployment in the state. It is an undeniable fact that baryte exploration in Azara has provided employment for a great majority of indigenes and residents of Nasarawa State, especially Awe Local Government Area with particular emphasis on Azara community. These people would otherwise have been unemployed and this would have given the state government a serious headache. Hundreds of residents and indigenes of the state, especially women, girls and youths have been gainfully employed at the Azara mining veins. Some are diggers, loaders, miners, machine operators, and so on. These people earn a worthy income daily. This research revealed that the least paid worker earns, at least seven hundred naira (N700), daily. If that is calculated over a period of thirty days (a month) they would be earning twenty one thousand (N 21,000) monthly. To think that these workers are the least paid at the sites and they are unskilled is amazing. If they were to await the scarce public service employment and get it, they would probably have been earning the minimum wage which is grossly incomparable to the income they happily earn at the mining sites.
It should be borne in mind that, had these people - hundreds of them - not been employed by the exploration activities of baryte, the state government would have had to contend with serious social security and public security problems as many of them could have turned to criminals or thugs, which is essentially associated with unemployment.
2. REVENUE GENERATION
There is no valid contention of the fact that the discovery and eventual exploration of baryte in Azara has greatly increased the revenue base of Nasarawa State. Royalties and taxes are paid to the three tiers of government (the federal, the state and the local governments) by the firms exploiting the solid minerals.
This research revealed that, for each truck that leaves Azara daily, about seven thousand six hundred naira (N7,600) is remitted to the various tiers of government and the host community in this order; (Courtesy of the Project Manager, NBMPC Ltd., Azara.
Federal Government N 3, 600
Local Government Levy - N3000
Miners Association's Levy (State Govt.) - N500
Community Development Levy - N500
This statistical analysis is courtesy of the Project Manager of the Nigeria Barite Mining and Processing Company (NBPMC) Limited, Azara. From the above analysis, it is evident that the state government earns about 52.6% from each trailer load leaving Azara whereas the Federal Governemnt earns about 47.4%. The revenue becomes very significant when it is considered against the backdrop that there are at least ten trailers which leave Azara on a daily basis, including Saturdays and Sundays. If a rough estimation is made, it would be discovered that Nasarawa State can make at least modest revenue of forty thousand naira (N 40,000), daily as royalties and fourteen million, six hundred thousand naira per annum. When this revenue is considered against the backdrop that only five out of the existing eighteen veins are currently being exploited and below capacity, several question would be begging for urgent answers. Some of the questions that would quickly arise are:
"What is the government doing to benefit from this lucrative solid mineral?"
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