President Buhari was today, presented with Nigeria’s first artisanally-mined gold, processed & refined according to LBMA standards in 🇳🇬, under the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative (PAGMI). The 12.5kg gold bar has now been purchased by the CBN (₦268.6m) in Naira, for use as a reserve instrument like the U.S.
This means that the CBN will be purchasing gold that has been mined, processed and refined in Nigeria, under the PAGMI for use as part of Nigeria’s external reserves.
Using data from UN Comtrade, PAGMI estimates that between 2012-2018, 97 tonnes of gold valued at over $3 billion was illegally smuggled out of Nigeria. PAGMI will provide easy access to a gold market in Nigeria where artisans who mine gold in small quantities can go & sell the gold which the Govt buys back tru the CBN.
States in Nigeria that have small quantities of gold include, Kebbi, Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger and Osun States.
