13 Nigeria Natural Resources, Their Locations And Uses

Nigeria is a huge country which is rich in natural resources. The Nigerian economy highly depends on these resources, that is why they are a huge part of many people’s everyday lives, especially those who work in the industrial sphere.

Natural resources are commonly defined as the sources of wealth which appear naturally and are used by humans. They have a few classifications, which depend on different principles. The most popular out of them is renewability – according to this one, the natural resources are classified as renewable and non-renewable

Here is the list of natural resources in Nigeria and their locations, along with the interesting facts about them.

IRON ORE

Iron ore deposits found in abundance in Nigeria, West Africa with up to 3 billion tonnes are in Nigerian states like Kaduna, Enugu, Kogi, Niger, Kwara, Bauchi, and Zamfara.

Iron ore is an essential rock mineral, which formation came as a result of combined chemical reactions of oxygen and iron in marine and freshwaters.

COPPER

Copper is a chemical element that commonly exists in a lot of minerals. Copper ore or copper concentrate mineral has been one of the naturally occurring minerals that are available in Earth’s crust of Nigeria, the Western part of Africa.

Its occurrence and distribution are mainly in the Northern Part of the country such as Nasarawa, Plateau, Zamfara, Bauchi, Gombe State, Kano State, and also in the south in places like Abia.

GOLD

Gold is found in some African countries such as Nigeria in varying quantities, as a natural resource deposit mainly found in the Northern part of Nigeria.

It is prominently located in Iperindo in Osun State and other areas near Maru, Tsohon Birnin Gwari-Kwaga, Gurmana, Anka, Malele, Bin Yauri, and Okolom-Dogondaji.

Though it’s not dominant in the country, other states with smaller deposits include; Abia, Abuja, Bauchi, Edo, Cross River, Niger, Sokoto, Osun, Oyo State, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara.

LEAD PB

Nigeria is one of the Africa countries with abundant lead natural resources deposits and minerals.

Listed below are some of the states in Nigeria that are rich in lead deposits, they are Akwa Ibom, Imo, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Enugu, Niger, Ebonyi, FCT, Plateau, Cross River, Taraba, and Zamfara.

Lead is a metallic element primarily produced from the mineral, galena.

Most mineral ore contains lead with only about 3 of these minerals commercially viable, they are galena, cerussite, and anglesite and are mostly found in conjunction with other metals like zinc and silver.

LIMESTONE

Limestone deposit in Nigeria is majorly deposited in Cross River and Ebonyi states but can still be found in a commercial deposits in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, and Sokoto, making Nigeria the most richly deposited West African country when it comes to Limestone.

This is one of the mineral deposits in Nigeria that is of great proportion but it is not renewable, and unlike some of these minerals, limestone is processed and quarried by various local and international construction companies in Nigeria.

DOLMOTE

Dolomite Deposits – Nigeria is one of the African Countries with Dolomite deposits and these are located in Abuja, Edo (Ikpeshi and Akoko), Kogi, Nasarawa, Kwara, Yobe, and Oyo.

Dolomite is one of the compositions of limestone that can also be referred to as sedimentary rock, both Limestone, and Dolomite behave in similar ways when subjected to heat and pressure.

CRUDE OIL

Nigeria has the richest crude oil deposits in Africa and the 4th in the World; it is the 6th largest producer of crude oil and the 5th largest supplier of crude.

Nigeria is the largest producer of sweet oil in OPEC, the Nigerian grade of crude oil is described as light because of its relatively low density, and sweet because of its low sulphur content otherwise known as Bonny Light crude oil (BLCO).

These oil deposits are mainly found in the Niger Delta of Nigeria which comprises the south-south region and some parts of the south-east and few states in the south-west of the country which includes Abia, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo, Anambra and Ondo State.

COAL

Coal Deposits – Some African countries like Nigeria is blessed with coal-rich states especially Enugu which is known as the “the coal city” because of its vast coal deposits, other states include; Benue, Kogi, Delta, Kwara, Plateau, Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Edo, Ondo, Adamawa, and Imo.

Fossil fuels came up as a result of the remains of dead animals and plants million years ago; an example of such fuels is coal. Coal is a fossil fuel and it’s a non-renewable energy source because it takes millions of years to form and cannot be renewed by men once depleted.

SALT

Salt is one of the most common mineral resources in Nigeria, Africa, and the world in general as it is seen and used daily mostly in cooking and in preservation, and also for its health benefits

Salt is found in larger deposits in Ebonyi State whose slogan is ” the salt of the nation”, other places of deposits includes Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Anambra, Imo, Katsina, and Sokoto State.

GRANITE

Granite is a natural stone just like limestone and is deposited in Nigeria and Africa in abundance, and its deposition has called for numerous local and international quarrying companies into the country.

Granites, popularly known in Nigeria as gravel/chippings are found in all the states of the federation but occur in larger quantities in; Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Cross River, and the Ekiti State of Nigeria.

They also occur in some other states in Nigeria such as Kogi, Enugu, Nasarawa, Plateau, Oyo, Osun, Ebonyi, and Ogun.

SILVER

Silver Ore Mineral Deposits – Nigeria is one of the few African countries that has silver deposits, though silver is not vastly deposited in Nigeria like other minerals and metals, as it is only deposited in the northern part of Nigeria, namely Kano and Taraba State.

Silver has a symbol of Ag with an atomic number of 47, it has a melting point and boiling point of 961.8 °C and 2,162 °C respectively.

It is characterized as a lustrous metal that is soft and white, it has the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity, and it is one of the sparsely deposited natural mineral resources in Nigeria.

BITUMEN

Bitumen is a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons obtained naturally. It can also be obtained through petroleum distillation. And it is sometimes called Asphalt. There are so many uses of Bitumen from engineering to Agriculture. Nigeria has the second largest deposit of bitumen in the world, spanning approximately 120km

Bitumen can be found in the following states in Nigeria

Edo
Lagos
Ogun
Ondo

TIN

Tin is a chemical element of of the carbon family. It is of great value, it has a lot of uses. It is used the world over for various purposes.

The following are the uses of Tin:

Tin-plating
Solders
Tin Chemicals
Lead-Acid Batteries
Copper Alloys
Where to find Tin in Nigeria

Tin can be found in Bauchi, Plateau

CLAY

Africa is endowed with clay-rich countries and clay is gotten from the majority of the states in Nigeria and is deposited in most of the states in larger quantities, the states include; Abuja (FCT) Akwa Ibom, Anambra State, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, and Sokoto.

Clay has a long history of existence if not the oldest; it has also been termed the oldest building material on Earth. It is not a new natural resource in Nigeria and Africa as a whole as it was used in ancient times in the building of huts and even in modern-day Nigeria, some of these structures are still visibly seen not only in the building of houses but also in other homewares such as plates and water pots

CONCLUSION

While Nigerians may complain of hard economy. The country is sitting on abundance of natural resources that if tapped, can bring growth and economic relieve. As a Nigerian, you can be able to explore some of these resources. As a foreign investor, you can explore these resources.