The Kaduna Mining Development Company (KMDC) and the Kaduna State Government have announced the discovery of extensive multi-metallic deposits containing gold, lithium, copper, and nickel in Kaduna State.
The exploration revealed an inferred resource of 33 million tonnes of gold and 187 million tonnes of nickel ore bodies in the pegmatite region of Gidan Waya, Jema’a Local Government Area. The search for tin in the area also led to the identification of 97 million tonnes of enriched ore bodies containing tantalum, niobium, tin, and tungsten.
The discovery was made by Kian Smith (www.kiansmith.com) for the KMDC and Anka Metals (ankametals.africa) joint venture. Following two years of exploration, KMDC has established the JEMAA Resource Project, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created to develop the newly discovered assets.
To ensure technical and geological integrity, KMDC has set up a technical steering committee led by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), which will oversee drilling and resource confirmation. The NGSA commended the project’s transparency and the call for an independent resource verification process, emphasizing that the collaboration would boost investor confidence and enhance Nigeria’s geoscientific data.
Other members of the technical committee include Geocardinal Engineering Services Limited and Fundamental Integrated Site Appraisal Services Limited (FISAS)—two leading geological firms in Nigeria.