Kogi State Nigeria is one of the most naturally endowed states in Nigeria. The natural resources in Kogi State are in commercial quantities. It is located in the central region of Nigeria bordering about 10 states. They include Niger, Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Odo, Anambra, Nassarawa, Benue and Enugu. It is called the confluence state because both river Benue and river Niger meet at the capital, Lokoja. Some of these natural mineral resources include; Coal, Dolomite, Feldspar, Bauxite, Iron Ore, Tar, Limestone, Gold, Petroleum and Tin. But this article will concentrate on coal, iron,and limestone in our next publications, we will try to lay emphances on them.
Coal is found in many mines in kogi state such as; Ogboyoga, Kogi District (123 million tonnes reportable), Okaba, Kogi District (99 million tonnes reportable), Orukpa, Benue District (81 million tonnes reportable) and Ezimo, Benue District (43 million tonnes reportable). Coal is the oldest commercial fuel in Nigeria with production dating from 1916 when 24,500 tonnes were produced. Between 1958/1959, coal contributed over 70% to the energy consumption in Nigeria peaking at 905,397 tonnes. From 1960 to 1983 the production reduced to 52, 700 and by 2001 it represented only 0.02% of the country energy consumption. Currently the power production from coal is put at 3,500mw. It's Economic Values cannot be neglected as well; Coal is used as an energy source in cement production, it is used for cooking, heating and other domestic use, it is used in Production of the coal briquettes and When coal is liquefied it can be used to produce transport fuels and other oil products such as plastics and solvents.
Iron ore can be found in Itakpe and Okene in Kogi State. Kogi has two major steel complexes namely; Aladja and Ajaokuta steel complex. They process billets which are used in the down-stream sector. In the Lokoja-Okene areas iron ore occurs as massive bands and lenses. These tabular ore bodies are up to 45m thick, extending for hundreds of metres to over 5km although locally faulted. The Itakpe Hill deposit is regarded as an itabirite in type and mineable reserves are estimated at 310M tonnes, it is usually mined as a raw material in Ajaokuta steel complex. The iron ore are also fed to steel rolling mills in Oshogbo, Jos and Kastina steel mills as well as other private steel mills in Lagos and Kano. An enormous iron Ore was found in Agbaja, Kogi State by an Energio Limited An Australian Company, the Ore is about 13.9km2 and 9km2 represents about 15 percent of the potential areas as well as 9.2 per cent of the company’s 151km landholding for Iron.
Limestone is found in commercial quantities in kogi, Nigeria. Obajana in Kogi has the largest deposit of limestone with reserves of 647 million tonnes expected to last for about 45 years. Dangote Cement, Africa’s biggest cement producer has built one of its largest plants in Obajana in Kogi state. Obajana cement plant has a capacity of 13.25mt with four production lines. It uses gas to power its kilns and power plants. It's Economic values cannot be neglected; The purest natural form of limestone; marble is used as a decorative stone in buildings, Limestone is used as a filler in a variety of products, including paper, plastic, and paint, Powdered limestone is used to remove impurities from molten metals like steel, Limestone is also the raw material for making lime (CaO) that is used to treat soils, purify water and smelt copper, it is used to purify iron in blast furnaces and it is also used in the manufacture of glass, and of cement.
Gold is found in the northern part of Kogi and it occurs with a range of base-metal sulphides. Crude oil can be found in Odeke in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State. The government of Nigeria is planning on building a Greenfield Refinery in Kogi State which would be integrated with an industrial hydrocarbon park designed to convert natural gas and refined petroleum products into hydrocarbon derivatives. The refinery is expected to produce about 300,000 metric tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas per annum. For investors to be able to mine the minerals resources in Kogi State, the investor would first incorporate their company through the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The company must then register with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) before commencing business. Kogi State offers the best return on any investment as seen by the Dangote Cement factory in Obajana, Kogi State. The natural resources in Kogi State are still grossly under-exploited. It offers incentives such as exemption for temporary imports, access to business services including recruitment support, logistics, integrated customs services, Provision of basic infrastructure, duty free importation of raw materials and many other incentives.