List of Natural Mineral Resources Found in Kaduna State

Kaduna state is endowed with solid mineral resources spread across all of its 23 Local government areas. There are at least 5 mineral exploration licensed companies, 40 quarry licensed firms and 15 mining companies. Some of the solid mineral deposits that can be found in Kaduna state include Cassiterite, Nickel, Lithium, Molybdenum, Tantalite and Wolframite.

In this article, we review all mineral resources found within Kaduna state.

FULL LIST OF MINERAL RESOURCES FOUND IN KADUNA STATE

•  Cassiterite
• Nickel
• Lithium
• Molybdenum
• Tantalite

CASSITERITE

Cassiterite is also known as tin ore. It was discovered in the year 1884 by William Wallace in Nigeria. The current estimate of the tin ore reserve in Nigeria can help boost the Nigerian economy even without the exploitation of crude oil.

Cassiterite also referred to as tin (SnO2) is characterized as a reddish, yellowish, brownish mineral which contains an oxide of tin mineral and the principal ore or source of Tin. The symbol for this solid mineral is Sn, and it can be traced in the periodic table. Cassiterite has an Opaque appearance but appears to be semi-transparent in thin crystals. Tin is also characterized as a silvery-white metal that is malleable, highly crystalline and ductile.

Mining Cassiterite is not as difficult as some of the natural solid minerals that can be found in Kaduna state. Tin Mining is relatively easy because it is usually mined from the vein containing the tin ore. The production of this solid mineral can be carried out using the carbothermic reduction of the oxide ore with coke or carbon.

SOME OF THE USES OF CASSITERITE

• It is used in the prevention of corrosion or rusting by just using it to coat other metals; a very good example of this is the tin can.
• Cassiterite is used in the formation of many useful alloys such as soft solder, bronze, pewter, phosphor bronze.

NICKEL

Products that contain Nickel play a lot of important roles in our daily lives. In comparison with other materials, products that contain nickel have better resistance to corrosion, more strength, low and high temperatures, and a range of electronic and magnetic properties. This wonderful solid mineral according to Premiumtimesng, was discovered in Kaduna state and is very abundant. Nickel is a very important component of the Nigerian steel industry.

In Kaduna, there are over 21 kilometres of Nickel ore deposit. This makes Kaduna state one of the most coveted places in the world for international buyers to buy the Nickel Ore. The vast deposits found in Kaduna state creates a great opportunity for people living in Kaduna and have an interest in the Nickel ore mining ore export to take gross advantage of. The abundance of solid mineral resources in Nigeria continues to make this country one of the richest in the world. Let us go on to look at some fun facts of the Nickel ore in Nigeria.

SOME FACTS ABOUT NICKEL ORE MINERALS IN NIGERIA

• Nickel is majorly used in the production of alloys such as stainless steel
• There are lots of Nickel ore deposits in Kaduna state
• The Nickel ore minerals are calculated in metric tonnes.
• The Nickel mineral resource is the second most abundant in the earth’s core.

LITHIUM

Lithium mineral resource is one of the major means of industrial growth in Nigeria. This metal is soft and has a silvery-white colour, which changes to dull grey colour or black tarnish when exposed to moist air. Let us review some of the uses of this wonderful solid mineral

USES OF LITHIUM

• The compound lithium stearate is used for mixing with oils to make lubricants
• Lithium is usually alloyed with aluminium, manganese, cadmium and copper to produce high-performance alloys for aircraft.
• Also, lithium hydroxide is used to absorb carbon dioxide in Space vehicles.

MOLYBDENUM

Molybdenum is a mineral resource that is found in significant quantity in Kaduna state. In terms of its abundance, it is the 54th in the earth crust and also 25th in the oceans. According to appearance it is characterized as a blue greyish solid mineral that mostly occurs in hexagonal crystals.

TANTALITE

The tantalite solid mineral is the principal ore of tantalum. In appearance, it has a black or brown colour and occurs in two major forms; tantalite that is rich in manganese and tantalite that is rich in Iron. Kaduna state has a significant amount of tantalite in its natural reserve. It can serve as an economic boost to both the state and Nigeria as a nation if explored.

Let us look at some of the uses of tantalite

• Tantalite is majorly used as tantalum capacitors in video game consoles, smartphones, computers and DVD players.
• This solid mineral can be alloyed with other metals to give a high melting point, strength and ductility.
• Tantalite is used in the industrial production of superalloys used in constructing nuclear reactors.