La Mancha, a Luxembourg private gold development company in Cairo, Egypt, has signed an expression of interest agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria to mine the gold.
The Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Uchechukwu Ogah, during the signing ceremony, said that with the signing of the expression of interest by La Mancha, the efforts to attract big investors into the sector had started yielding results.
The signing ceremony was coordinated by Egyptian African Arab Company for Development in Cairo, Egypt.
Ogah, whose remarks were contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the mines ministry’s spokesperson, Itore Thomas, said the move would boost the diversification of the economy through the minerals and metals sector.
He expressed satisfaction that with the collaboration between the Federal Government and La Mancha Holdings Incorporated with portfolio companies such as Endeavour Mining, Golden Star Resources and Altus Strategies, among others.
He said the firms had a market capitalization in excess of about $10bn and over 1.2Moz of gold production.
On the gains of the partnership, the minister said the collaboration would be of immense benefit to Nigeria and would further cement African brotherhood and ensure development within the continent using its abundance of gold resources.
Ogah was quoted as saying, “Our ultimate goal is to attract investors with the technical and financial competence to invest in our solid minerals sector, from detailed exploration to mining, development, processing and refining to producing standard ores in Nigeria.”
The Chairman, La Mancha, Naguib Sawiris, said the signing of the document was the company’s way of formally expressing its interest to begin operations in Nigeria.
He said La Mancha was looking at new opportunities to expand its investment in gold mining across Africa, adding that Nigeria had enough gold deposits for investments, as the company’s intention was to commence operations in the first quarter of 2021.
