The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Mohammed Sada has said that lack of raw material was one of the major factors affecting full production of liquid steel at the Ajaokuta Steel Company, in Kogi State.
Other challenges against the mining sector, according to the minister, include funding, low level of geo-sciences information, and inadequate mine site infrastructure to facilitate mineral resource development.
Sada, who spoke at a Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, said the Federal Government was working assiduously to ensure that the plant functioned optimally.
He maintained that most of the bad components of the plant had been reactivated with the rolling mill units functioning optimally.
“One of the major challenges of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant has been the problem of infrastructure like the railway for transporting raw materials to the plant,” he said.
Sada lamented that government spent huge amount of money on the importation of steel products into the country. “In 2013, N488.7 billion was spent on the importation of 2.01 tonnes of steel products into Nigeria,” he said.
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