There are lots of natural resources in Nigeria, and their importance cannot be overemphasized. This is because the abundant mineral deposit in Nigeria are used her economic and human development. This post talks about the natural resources in Nigeria as they are distributed in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The importance of natural resources in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. This is because, the country is blessed with abundant mineral deposit and agro raw materials used for her upkeep and human development.
Even with all these, it is quite unfortunate that Nigeria is ranked among countries with highest poverty rate. This is because the federal government is negligent enough to harness the solid mineral resources and use them for the benefit of their citizens.
The 36 states in Nigeria and the FCT are divided into six geo-political zones. Each of the states in Nigeria is blessed with their own mineral resources. For instance, crude oil is majorly found in the south southern region of Nigeria, that houses most of the Niger Delta states. On the other hand, coal and agricultural products are majorly found in the Northern region of the country, where farming is the other of the day.
Also read: Problems of Agricultural development in Nigeria and Possible Solutions
Many people are eager to know the region of Nigeria that has the most natural resources, and why is crude oil regarded as the most important mineral resources in Nigeria? Well, as you read on you will have a better insight. This article reveals the state with the highest mineral and natural resources in Nigeria, and also the number of deposits found in the country.
It is obvious that Nigeria makes money through oil and gas exploration. In fact, Nigeria has an estimated 22 billion barrels of oil reserves, while her gas reserve is more than 150 trillion cubic meters.
There are major oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria that makes this possible. They include; Shell, Total, Chevron, Oando, and their regulator NNPC. This just to mention a few because there are others exploring oil in the Niger Delta.
The Oil producing states in Nigeria are; Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Abia, Imo, and Ondo. All these states are found in the southern region of Nigeria, and they are very rich because of their high internally generated revenue (IGR).
States in Nigeria with the Highest Natural Resources
Many have asked about the state in Nigeria with the highest mineral resources? Well, the answer is in the next paragraph.
Plateau state is the state in Nigeria with the highest mineral deposits, which is then followed by Kaduna, and then Nasarawa state. Plateau state is blessed with 22 miinerla resources (the highest so far), while Kaduna and Nasarawa has 20 each. Other states like Sokoto, Taraba, Ondo, and Oyo are not left out in this category because they are blesses with abundant mineral deposits too.
States in Nigeria with the Lowest Natural Resources
The states in Nigeria with the lowest amount of natural resources are Kebbi (has only Gold as the recognised mineral resources), Gombe (has two natural deposits), Yobe (two also), Zamfara (three), Enugu (three), and Katsina (three as well).
Now let me show you the mineral deposits found in each state and the FCT (Abuja).
List of Natural Resources in Nigeria Found in the 36 States and FCT
Below are the 36 states in Nigeria and the list of mineral resources found in them.
Natural Resources in Abia State
Abia state is located in the south-eastern part of Nigeria, and it is blessed with only four mineral resources. They are Gold, Lead/Zinc, Lime stone, and Oil/Gas.
Natural Resources in Abuja (FCT)
Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) if Nigeria, and it is located in the north central region of the country. There are eight mineral resources found in Abuja, and they include; Cassiterite, Clay, Dolomite, Gold, Lead/Zinc, Marble, and Tantalite.
Natural Resources in Adamawa State
Adamawa state is located in the north eastern region of Nigeria, and it is blessed with four mineral resources. They are; Bentonite, Gypsium, Kaolin, and Magnesite.
Natural Resources in Akwa Ibom State
Akwa Ibom is located in the south southern part of Nigeria. It is one of the richest state in Nigeria, as an oil producing state blessed with nine mineral deposits. They include clay; Clay, Lead/Zinc, Lignite, Limestone, Oil/Gas, Salt and Uranium.
Natural Resources in Anambra State
Anambra state is located in the south eastern region of Nigeria, and it is blessed with ten mineral resources. They are; Glass-Sand, Clay, Gypsium, Iron-Ore, Lead/Zinc, Limestone, Lignite, Phosphate and Salt.
Natural Resources in Bauchi State
Bauchi is located in the north eastern part of the country, and it is blessed with ten natural mineral deposits. They include; Gold, Cassiterite, Columbite, Gypsium, Wolfram, Limestone, Coal, Lignite, Iron-ore, and Clay.
Natural Resources in Bayelsa State
Bayelsa is located in the south southern region of Nigeria, and it is among the oil producing states. The mineral deposits found in Bayelsa include; Clay, Lead/Zinc, Gypsium, Lignite, Limestone, Manganese, Oil/Gas, and Uranium.
Natural Resources in Benue State
Benus state is located in the middle belt or north central Nigeria, and it is blessed with eleven natural resources. They include; Barite, Coal, Clay, Gemstone, Gypsium, Iron-ore, Lead/Zinc, Limestone, Marble, and Salt.
Natural Resources in Borno State
Borno state is located in the north eastern region of Nigeria, and it has seven natural resources in it. They include; Bentonite, Clay, Diatomite, Gypsium, Hydrocarbon, kaolin, and Limestone.
Natural Resources in Cross River State
Cross River state is located in the south southern region of Nigeria, and the state is blessed with ten mineral deposits. They include; Barite, Lead/Zinc, Lignite, Limestone, Oil/Gas, Salt, and Uranium.
Natural Resources in Delta State
Delta state is also among the oil producing state and it is locate in the south southern part of the country. The natural resources found in Delta include; Clay, Glass-Sand, Gypsium, Iron-ore, Kaolin, Marble, and Oil/Gas.
Natural Resources in Ebonyi State
Ebonyi is located in south southern Nigeria and it has one of the smallest mineral deposit in the country. At the moment, just four has been recorded and they are; Gold, Lead/Zinc, and Salt.
Natural Resources in Edo State
Edo state is also a south southern state, and the state is blesses with thirteen natural/mineral resources. They include; Bitumen, Clay, Dolomite, Phosphate, Glass-Sand, Gypsium, Iron-ore, Limestone, Lignite, Marble, and Oil/Gas.
Natural Resources in Ekiti State
Ekiti state is found in the south western part of Nigeria and it is blessed with five mineral deposits. They include; Feldspar, Kaolin, Granite, Syenite, and Tatium.
Natural Resources in Enugu State
Enugu state is located in south eastern Nigeria, and it is blessed with four natural/mineral deposits. They include; Coal, Lead/Zinc, and Limestone.
Natural Resources in Gombe State
Gombe state has only two mineral deposits like I stated earlier on, and they are Gemstone and Gypsium.
Natural Resources in Imo State
Often seen as the richest state in south eastern Nigeria, Imo state is blessed with ten solid minerals. They include; Gypsium, Lead/Zinc, Lignite, Matcasite, Limestone, Oli/Gas, Phosphate, and Salt.
Natural Resources in Kaduna State
Kaduna is one of the state with the highest natural resources in Nigeria, marking a total number of twenty. They include; Amethyst, Aqua Marine, Asbestos, Clay, Flosper, Gemstone, Gold, Graphite, Kaolin, Hyanite, Mica, Rock Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Sihnite, Superntinite, Tentalime, Topaz & Tourmaline are mineral deposits that can be found in commercial quantities in Kaduna state.
Natural Resources in Kano State
Kano is located in the north western region of Nigeria, and the state is blessed with eight mineral resources. They include; Cassiterite, Copper, Gemstone, Glass-Sand, Lead/Zinc, Tantalite, and Pyrochinre.
Natural Resources in Katsina State
Katsina is one of the Nigerian states with the least mineral resources. The few found in the state are; Kaolin, Marble and Salt.
Natural Resources in Kebbi State
Kebbi is the state in Nigeria with the least mineral deposit, it has just one – Gold,
Natural Resources in Kogi State
Kogi is located in the north central region of Nigeria, and it has nine natural resources. They are; Coal, Dolomite, Feldspar, Iron-ore, Gypsium, Kaolin, Marble, Talc, and Tantalite.
Natural Resources in Kwara State
Kwara state is blessed with eight natural resources, and they include; Cassiterite, Columbite, Gold, Feldspar, Iron-ore, Mica, Marble, and Tantalite.
Natural Resources in Lagos State
Lagos is the richest state in Nigeria, and it is blessed with only three natural rsources. They are; Bitumen, Clay, and Glass-Sand.
Natural Resources in Nasarawa State
Nasarawa state is among the state with the highest natural resources in Nigeria. The state has 20 different types of solid minerals and they include Amethyst (Topaz Garnet), Barytex, Barite, Cassirite, Chalcopyrite, Clay, Columbite, Coking Coal, Dolomite/Marble, Feldspar, Galena, Iron-ore, Limstone, Mica, Salt, Sapphire, Talc, Tantalite, Tourmaline Quartz & Zireon
Natural Resources in Niger State
In terms of landmass and size, Niger state is the biggest in the country, but it has just three mineral deposits. They are; Gold, Lead/Zinc, and Talc.
Natural Resources in Ogun State
Ogun state is located in south western Nigeria and it is blessed with the following natural resources; Bitumen, Clay, Feldspar, Gemstone, Kaolin, Limestone and Phosphate.
Natural Resources in Ondo State
Ondo is another south western state and the minerals found in the state are thirteen in number. They include; Bitumen, Clay, Coal, Dimension Stones, Feldspar, Gemstone, Glass-Sand, Granite, Gypsium, Kaolin, Limestone and Oil/Gas.
Natural Resources in Osun State
Another south western state, Osun has six mineral deposits in it, They are Columbite, Gold, Granite, Talc, Tantalite, and Tourmaline
Natural Resources in Oyo State
Oyo is also located in south-western Nigeria and it is blessed with eleven mineral deposits. They are, Cassiterite, Clay, Dolomite, Gemstone, Gold, Kaolin, Marble, Silimonite, Talc, and Tantalite.
Natural Resources in Plateau State
Plateau is the state with the highest natural resources in Nigeria, a total of 23 in number. The following are the minerals found in commercial quantities in Plateau state – Barite, Bauxite, Betonite, Bismuth, Cassiterite, Clay, Coal, Emeral, Fluoride, Gemstone, Granite, Iron-ore, Kaolin,Lead/Zinc, Marble, Molybdenite, Phrochlore, Salt, Tantalite/Columbite, Tin and Wolfram.
Natural Resources in River State
River is an oil producing state and it is located in the south-south region of Nigeria. The state is blessed with mineral resources such as; Clay, Glass-Sand, Lignite, Marble, and Oil/Gas.
Natural Resources in Sokoto State
Sokoto state is blessed with twelve mineral deposits. They are; Clay, Flakes, Gold, Granite, Gypsium, Kaolin, Laterite, Limestone, Phosphate, Potash, Silica Sand, and Salt
Natural Resources in Yobe State
Yobe state has just three mineral deposits, they are; Soda, Ash, and Tintonite.
Natural Resources in Zamfara State
Zamfara state is blessed with just three natural resources. They are; Gold, Coal, and Cotton.
Conclusion
As you can see, the Nigeria states are blessed with abundant mineral/natural resources, and if properly harnessed the country will be among the richest in the world. So this is all you need to know about the natural resources in Nigeria and how they are distributed in each state and the FCT.
