AFRICA SPECIAL — Nigeria proceeds with privatization

Consulting firm Behre Dolbear has submitted to the government of Niger its initial recommendations for privatizing the country’s mining industry.

From a database of 451 known mineral occurrences, Behre Dolbear has ranked 20 projects it considers worthy of detailed study. The projects cover a range of commodities, including gold, coal, kaolin, tar sands, phosphate, iron and dimension stone.

The firm will begin a second phase of the privatization plan once the government gives final approval. This second phase will involve evaluating each property through mapping, sampling and drilling.

In the third phase, the properties will be presented to the marketplace for leasing, joint ventures or other agreements.