This document provides an overview of uranium exploration and mining case studies in Nigeria, including: - Uranium was discovered in the 1970s in the northeast region through exploration projects conducted by the Nigerian Uranium Mining Company. - Four main uranium deposit areas were discovered - Gumchi, Gabrunde, Mika, and Mayo-Lope. Drilling and sampling was conducted at these sites to determine average uranium concentrations and reasonably assured resource estimates ranging from 50 to 100 tons of uranium oxide. - The geology of Nigeria consists of a basement complex and younger granites upon which sedimentary basins were deposited. Uranium mineralization is hosted in granitic rocks and

1. NIGERIA UNFC CASE STUDIES
BY
ARISEKOLA TUNDE, ALEX NWEGBU; OYEDEJI
A.O AND MASPALMA SAMSON STANLEY
(NGSA)
AT
WORKSHOP ON HARMONISATION,
ADAPTATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF UNFC
INLINE WITH AFRICA MINING VISION(AMV)
CAIRO MARRIOT HOTEL, CAIRO 2nd - 6th
October 2017

2. OUTLINE
 INTRODUCTION
 GEOLOGY OF NIGERIA
 HISTORY OF URANIUM EXPLORATION NE NIGERIA
 URANIUM DISCOVERIES IN GUMCHI, GUBRUNDE, MIKA AND
MAYO-LOPE-ZONA
 NIGERIA EXPLORATION PROJECTS UNFC CLASSIFICATION
 CONCLUSION

3.  INTRODUCTION
 Solid Minerals had played a long and important role in the industrial
history of Nigeria.
 Prior to 1970 there was a boom in exploration, exploitation of minerals
such as coal, tin and columbite .
 Organized mining in Nigeria started between 1902 and 1923 following
the commissioning of Mineral surveys of the southern and northern
protectorates.
 The oil boom in years later resulted in a shift of focus from solid
minerals
 Over 80% of foreign exchange earnings comes from oil and gas
 Federal and State Governments are now poised to revitalise the solid
mineral sector of the economy
 The Nigerian Uranium Mining Company was established in Technical
Partnership with TOTAL COMPAGNIE MINIERE (TCM) of France
Primarily to explore, develop and mine uranium deposits in Nigeria.
Between 1976 and 1978, the Nigerian Uranium Mining Company
(NUMCO) started the exploration campaign in the northeastern part
of the country in collaboration with BGRM LTD.

4.  THE GEOLOGY OF NIGERIA
 The Geology of Nigeria is composed of 4 main groups:
 Basement Complex ii. Younger Granites iii. Sedimentary series and iv.
the Tertiary-Recent Volcanic rocks
 The Basement Complex comprises the Migmatite-Gnesis complex, the
schist belts (metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks) and the pan-
African Granitoids (Older Granites and associated Charnockitic rocks).
 The Younger Granites emplaced in the middle or surface Ring
complexes of Triassic – Cretaceous (mostly Jurassic) Age.
 The Sedimentary rocks found in seven basins (Chad basin, Sokoto
basin, Benue Trough, Niger, Anambra, Dahomey basin and the Niger
Delta).

5.  THE GEOLOGY OF NIGERIA
 The Geology of Nigeria is composed of 4 main groups:
 Basement Complex ii. Younger Granites iii. Sedimentary series and iv.
the Tertiary-Recent Volcanic rocks
 The Basement Complex comprises the Migmatite-Gnesis complex, the
schist belts (metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks) and the pan-
African Granitoids (Older Granites and associated Charnockitic rocks).
 The Younger Granites emplaced in the middle or surface Ring
complexes of Triassic – Cretaceous (mostly Jurassic) Age.
 The Sedimentary rocks found in seven basins (Chad basin, Sokoto
basin, Benue Trough, Niger, Anambra, Dahomey basin and the Niger
Delta).

6. History of Uranium Exploration in North eastern
Nigeria
 The exploration efforts for uranium ore in Nigeria date
back to the end of the World War II in 1945, but first
documented record of uranium exploration was by
Beer (1952). The Geological Survey of Britain, Atomic
Energy Division, published a classified report of
uranium mineralization in Nigeria.
 Analog airborne radiometric surveys were conducted
over the Nigerian Territory from 1974 to 1976, using
flights lines with a 2-km nominal line spacing, 20 km-
apart tie line spacing, and a nominal flight altitude of
500 feet above terrain. The areas covered by the survey
include the lower Benue Trough (Figure 1)and Figure 2.

7. History of Uranium Exploration in North eastern
Nigeria
 From 2003 to 2009, the Federal government of Nigeria,
through the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency and
Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, performed
a high resolution airborne geophysical radiometric
survey of the entire country. The survey was completed
between 2003 and 2009. This survey was conducted to
enhance and complement the earlier exploration
activities. The data have identified many anomalous
areas and targets for further exploration
 UNFC-2009 has been adapted for the classification of
the level of uranium resource studies completed in
these areas, presented here as a Nigeria case studies.

8. Uranium Deposit Discoveries in Northeastern Nigeria
 Gumchi Prospect
 Gabrunde Prospect
 Mika Prospect
 Mayo-Lope Prospect

9. Gumchi Prospect
 Gumchi area, the rocks that host the uranium anomalies are
fine-grained porphyritic granite and mylonitized, sheared and
brecciated quartzites. The brecciated zone extends for over 15
km and is associated with lamprophyres. The breccia is highly
silicified. The uranium anomaly is mostly associated with silica
cementing the breccias. A very-low-frequency (VLF) survey was
carried out in the area. A total of 65 holes were drilled in the
area; a total of 5,679 m of drill samples were recovered and
logged. The Reasonably Assured Resource (RAR) for the deposit
was determined to be 100 t of U oxide. The geochemical
analysis indicated an average uranium concentration of 2000
parts per million (ppm). The Gumchi area is the best
prospect among the different mineralized areas underlain
by the basement

10. Gabrunde Prospect
 In the Gabrunde area, uranium mineraliztion is
hosted by Pre-Cambrian granites. Reportedly, the
largest deposit is uraniferous pyrochlore, an ore of
niobium with small amounts of U and Th, within
peralkaline granite. Uranium concentration was at 215
ppm. The Reasonably Assured Resource (RAR) is
estimated at 60 t U oxide.

11. Mika Prospect
 In the Mika area, the mineralization is associated with Pan-
African tectonized granites within a major northeast-southwest-
trending shear zone. A total of 14,173 line km of airborne (by
helicopter) gamma-ray spectrometeric radiometric survey was
conducted. Additionally, 15 total count scintillometers (Spp2),
two GR 410 spectrometers, and one Scintrex spectrometer were
used for ground radiometric surveys. Uraniferous rhyolites of
Jurassic age occur as dykes, which were emplaced within Pan
African Granite. The uranium resource in the Mika deposits was
estimated based on the drilling results of 23 holes, with a total of
434.8 m of drill cores samples collected and logged. Geochemical
analysis showed that the average uranium concentration is 540
ppm. The Reasonably Assured Resource (RAR) estimate for the
deposit is 52 t U oxide at 130 m in thickness.

12. Mayo-Lope-Zona Prospect
 The Benue Trough sedimentary area is located in the
southern and northern limbs of the Mayo-lope
Syncline. Uranium mineralization in the Mayo-lope
and Zona areas is associated with the Cretaceous Bima
Sandstone, which lies directly and unconformably on
the Precambrian basement rocks. The anomaly is
hosted around Bille and Passam Hills, both located in
the southern and northern limbs of the Mayo-lope
Syncline.

13. MINERALS OF NIGERIA
All the geopolitical zones of the country are endowed with one mineral or
the other. More than 34 minerals have been identified in more than
500 locations in the country.
 The following minerals are found in the many part of Nigeria.
 The metallic minerals are cassiterite, tantalite, columbite, iron ore,
pyrite, wolframite, galena, sphalerite, gold, monazite, ilmenite, rutile,
molybdenite and uranium etc
 Industrial Minerals - clay, kaolin, baryte, gypsum, talc, feldspar, glass
sand, marble, mica, bentonite, staurolite, phosphate, brine, coal, and
asbestos.
 The gemstones are tourmaline, aquamarine, emerald, topaz, zircon,
quartz, amethyst, sapphire, rubby, fluorite, olivine.
Gubrunde
Mika
Gumchi
Mayo-lope

14. Geological Map of prospective areas

15. 15

16. IN-HOUSE CAPACITY BUILDING
 EVERY TRAINING
ATTENDED BY STAFF
OF NGSA IN RESPECT
OF UNFC-2009 IS
REPLICATED TO
OTHER MEMBERS OF
STAFF BY POWER
POINT
PRESENTATION
 On 27th 0f JUNE, 2016

17. The Fundamentals of UNFC-2009 and Business
Model Canvas for NGSA, 27th June, 2016

18. A typical location of a chaotic illegal mining site