At the graduation ceremony for the second batch of the master Gemstone, Jewelry making, and design training in Abuja, Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, disclosed that, proportionately, with low revenue benefit returns, Nigeria exports gemstones worth three billion dollars annually. The ministry’s initiatives are aimed at transforming Nigeria from a massive consumer of imported jewelry items to a high-quality local jewelry producer, thus saving the country from substantial foreign exchange expenditures on jewelry imports.
Nigeria is a country endowed with a diverse range of world-rare mineral resources, including several precious and semi-precious gemstones. Some of the most popular gemstones in Nigeria are sapphire, aquamarine, beryl, emerald, tourmaline, ruby, garnet, amethyst and zircon, which may be found across the nation. Precious stones such as beryl, aquamarine, sapphires, zircon in bubblegum, pink, and watermelon, and tourmaline grades ranging from green to red are very rare and can only be acquired in Tibet, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Brazil.
Nigeria lacks the requisite technical expertise.
The minister noted that Nigeria, with its massive population, has an insatiable desire for jewelry, making it critical to develop a local jewelry industry that can meet local market demand for quality products while also creating employment. However, she said that the majority of gemstones mined in Nigeria are exported in raw form seeing as the nation as a whole lack the technical expertise and machinery required to cut, polish, and finish jewelry, which is the procedure that adds greater value to a gemstone.
As a consequence, the gemstone trade doesn’t contribute value to the Nigerian economy. The sector’s current contribution to the country’s total GDP is less than 1%, and reports in 2019 stated that gemstones worth USD 3 billion are exported yearly from Nigeria, primarily unofficially and with minimal income returns. Nigeria exported $9.26 million in precious stones in 2020. Nigeria’s main precious stone export destinations were the United States ($2.96M), Japan ($1.81M), Germany ($1.64M), Italy ($923K), and Thailand ($831K).
The jewelry industry is projected to have great potential.
In order to address these challenges, it is crucial to develop expertise in jewelry production, design, and finishing. Saraki argued that when fully effectively utilized, the jewelry industry has the potential to make a significant contribution to the growth of the national economy by creating massive job opportunities, raising the standard of living in local communities by stimulating innovation and creativity, while generating enormous export contributions, and providing opportunities for import substitutions.
Former Nigerian Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, has affirmed that the government is dedicated to promoting the country’s solid mining industry. He emphasizes that the mining industry is ideally positioned to help with supply chain diversification, asserting that the upcoming “Nigeria Mining Week 2022” will address issues such as critical mineral resources that serve as the foundation for new technologies that provide us with green renewable energy, ESG global trends, and NIMEP and downstream opportunities, among others.
Graduates of the program are prompted for more development.
Patrick Ojeka, Director of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, in his statement, urged graduates of the program to demonstrate commitment and tenacity in the skills they have amassed for the development of the downstream sectors and economic diversification through gemstone and jewelry making. In addition, the project coordinator, Engr. Sallim Salaam prompted the beneficiaries of the master training program to return to their various states to educate and empower others with the knowledge they had amassed.
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just hearing this though but if it’s true then government needs to tap more into it and benefits more for the citizenry.
We have to make plan on how we will be able to benefit from gemstone necessary procedure should be make to start to utilize this because when fully effectively utilized, the jewelry industry has the potential to make a significant contribution to the growth of the national economy by creating massive job opportunities, raising the standard of living in local communities by stimulating innovation and creativity and so on this will also sever as contribution to our economy which will improve it
Nigeria is a country endowed with a diverse range of world-rare mineral resources, including several precious and semi-precious gemstones. The government need to tap into these benefits
Nigeria is a country blessed with a varied range of world-rare natural resources, including various precious and semi-precious gemstones. Some of the most popular gemstones
Sapphire, aquamarine, beryl, emerald, tourmaline, ruby, garnet, amethyst, and zircon are only some of the most sought-after gemstones in Nigeria.
the people who benefited from the master training program to go back to their respective states and use the information that they had accumulated to educate and empower others in their places.
The yearly value of Nigeria’s gemstone exports is over three billion dollars, despite the country’s relatively modest revenue benefit returns.
The actions of the ministry are geared at making Nigeria less of a consumer of imported jewelry and more of a producer of high-quality jewelry on the domestic front, thereby reducing the country’s reliance on foreign money to pay for jewelry imports.
Nigeria is a nation rich in a variety of globally uncommon mineral resources, including a number of valuable and semi-precious gemstones. We only need to research and effectively apply these endowments.
It is essential to build a local jewelry industry in Nigeria because of the country’s enormous population and insatiable need for jewelry. This sector must be able to satisfy the local market’s demand for high-quality items while also providing job opportunities.
The vast majority of the gemstones that are mined in Nigeria are sent out of the country in their uncut condition since Nigeria as a whole does not possess the necessary gear and skills to cut gemstones.
the national economy by producing significant export contributions and giving chances for import substitutes, as well as by creating a great number of jobs and enhancing the quality of life in local communities via fostering innovation and creativity.
The process of cutting, polishing, and finishing jewelry, which is the step that adds more value to a gemstone, is not available across the whole of the country due to a lack of both technical competence and the necessary equipment.
recipients of the master training program were given the opportunity to go back to their respective states and use the information they had gained to teach others and give them more authority.
This will contribute to the growth of the country economy and better standard of living, also creating opportunities for the country
I urge graduates of the program to demonstrate commitment,tenacity in the skills and beneficiaries of the master training program, they have acquired for the development of the their sectors and economic diversification through gemstone and jewelry making.
Jewelry should actually bring in enough money to the government as revenue. This is because we have substantial raw materials like gold in our disposal. Refining it should be used to make valuable jewelries.
This a major resources going waste. Nigeria needs to acquire the necessary machinery to finish the production of jewelries cause am sure we have expertise they are just lacking infrastructure.
We have a country that is endowed with so many mineral resources including precious gemstones but bad leaders has impoverished the nation.
This country called Nigeria is so blessed and rich in mineral resources but we are ruled by set of government without vision who are there to embezzle public funds. Gemstones we can generate revenue from becomes difficult due to bad governance.