Ogun state leads the nation to higher growth in solid minerals with impressive performance
The Nigerian solid mineral industry productivity is at an all-time high with a record-breaking volume of production for 2021. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria produced a total of about 89 million tons of solid minerals in 2021 compared to 54Million tons in 2019 signifying a 65% increase in production between 2019 and 2021, There is a 25% increase between 2021 and 2020 when 64 million tons was produced.
Nationally, Limestone production grew to 44.7 million TONS in 2021 from 22.2M tons in 2019 signifying a 101 percent increase in production. Granite also grew to 22.3M Tons in 2021 compared to 9M tons in 2019 meaning that Granite products grew by 147 percent. Another important mineral worth mentioning is Laterite which increased to 7.3M Tonnes in 2021 from 7.12M tonnes in 2019 in another impressive improvement in production that shows a 43 percent increase.
Ogun states impressive growth in solid mineral production between 2020 and 2021 drove national productivity in the sector to a record high. Nationally, according to the mineral data released by the NBS, solid mineral production increased by 39.19% from 64.29 million tons in 2020 to 89.48 million tons in 2021. The rise in Ogun production is greater than the national growth rate by fourfold and than that of any other state. Ogun state production grew by 164.51% to a total of 32.04 Million tons of solid mineral in 2021 from 12.11 Million tons in 2020. So, nationally, production increased by 25.19 Million tons while it increased by 19.93 million tons in Ogun alone meaning the increase from the rest of the country is only 5.26 Million tons. Put differently, Ogun state drove the growth in production by contributing 79.12% to the additional tons.
When disaggregated, the top four solid minerals produced are Granite, Laterite, Limestone, and Sand. In order of production from highest to lowest, Limestone is the most produced at 44.71 Million tons, next is Granite at 22.33 Million tons, followed by Laterite at 7.32 Million tons and the fourth highest in the sand production at 1.66 Million tons. Reviewing zonal data showed that the South West produced 39.63% of the national output. Ogun state produced 90.35% of the SW total. The SW is followed by the North Central with 28.71% of total national production. The NC is led by Kogi 71.63%, FCT 10.88%, and Benue 7.89%. The South South produced the third highest volume of solid minerals with 18.35% of the national output. Cross River state represents 70.86% of the SS total production with Edo coming second at 22.59%. The two states, Cross River and Edo account for 93.45% of the total production in the South-South. The South East (3.55%), North West (7.88%), and the North East (1.88%) only contribute 13.31% combined to the national solid mineral output.
Since the NBS Started keeping and publishing the solid minerals mining record in 2010, Ogun state has led in annual production since 2012 after taking over the lead from Kogi state. Kogi led in production with 5.09 Million tons against Ogun’s 3.57 Million tons in 2011 but by 2012, Ogun’s production recorded a 148% increase to take the lead with 8.75 Million tons against Kogi’s 6.97 Million tons, Between 2010 and 2021, Ogun state has been able to increase its production volume of solid minerals by 629%. There is also a noticeable increase between 2016 and 2021 nationally and especially in Ogun state. Nationally, solid mineral production increased by 105% from 43.44M tonnes in 2016 to 89.48M tonnes in 2021 while it increased by 95.6% from 16.38M tons in 2016 to 32.04M tons in 2021 in Ogun state.
Ogun state’s total production is about the same as the total production of Kogi, Cross Rivers, and Benue combined. In 2021 Ogun produced a total of 32 Million Tonnes of solid minerals while Kogi, Cross River, and Benue combined production was 32M tonnes in the same period.
Ogun state production is also more than the total production of 34 other states combined at 27M tonnes.
