We stand here today as a result of many people within the sector who dared to take a risk on Kian Smith. People, far and wide, across all geopolitical zones, displayed a common trait-BELIEF. To believe in the unforeseen, to believe in the good in people and to believe that anything is possible in Nigeria.

We cannot write our story without the gold mining and mineral trading experts who opened their arms and embraced us in business. We have experienced complete cooperation and collaboration and for this we are immensely grateful. Our first notable foray into business within the sector commenced with laying in roads into Nigeria for the Lead market, through aggregating and organizing the Lead market for MRI to enter Nigeria.

Mr Muhammad Saidu of Natijah Minerals did what he had never done and gave us 3 trucks of 65% lead on trust for 3 weeks for the pilot contract with MRI. Chief Francis Obianwu
of Eyeview Inspection LTD shared the insides of his business and network to make us succeed. Mr Nnaemeka Muoma risked potential loss by aligning with the risky and inexperienced new market entrant.

On the mineral exploration and mining front, Chief Aderinokun of Tropical Mines poured out instructions and secret strategies. He ungrudgingly dispensed advice for hours on end. Madam Lola Areagba opened her mines and home in Nassarawa to show and encourage us in business. This was a stand she consistently took and it served as a pillar of encouragement. Chief Aderinokun and Madam Lola toughened us. Professor Ibrahim Garba always granted an audience and in like manner opened up his intellectual archives to grant full
support. Professor Gbenga Okunlola consistently pushed our capacity to take on more and would never take the excuse that our plate was full. To us, they were not just reservoirs for data in the geosciences but always a refreshing oasis to drink from. As well respected academic fellows, they encouraged
us to pursue intelligent discussions and research into the sector.

With one fated phone call, Engr Olapoju in Ile Ife took us under his tutelage, we had no connections that could benefit him yet he took us in. His most famous lesson was to imbibe in us the interconnectedness of the sector he would often say ‘mining business is like a mafia… if you sneeze in Sokoto we will hear you in Ife’. Engr Jacob Adeyemo, Frank Hosea,
Haroon AbdoolKadeer and his brother Umar Maishanu of Platinum mines cannot be absent from this lineup. It is so important to mention all these people because they chose to
help when nothing was offered to them, they simply trusted and helped selflessly without any personal benefit.

In the end, it is safe to say Engr Olapoju did not miss a mark, mining in Nigeria is indeed a mafia business, a cartel of trust and intricate interconnectivity. Our sector is a sector of risk
regulated by the trust in the geology and trust in the people.

 

Nigeria is divided across ethnic, religious and gender lines. Our success today comes from Northerners, Igbos and  Yorubas helping this Niger Delta woman succeed. Our more recent associations have emerged from corners we would never have envisaged. The Alhajis and Hajias in Zamfara, Niger, Osun and Kebbi who were selfless in their help. The gold dealers, sponsors, artisanal miners who had language communication barriers but trusted with their hearts and actions.

Upon the launch of Zokia system platform, a mobile platform to register and bank artisanal miners in Chikun, Kaduna state. Our northern teams where insistent that this was not the status quo; how could the people possibly part with their money on trust and proceed on a novel concept such as this? Well, two weeks later, we registered 1200 artisanal gold miners, over 300 of them using mobile money for payments. They took this risk and worked with us!

In summary, I am trying to convey to you that the core fabric of Kian Smith is really the network of Nigerians bound by one common cause; to see the Nigerian mining sector progress! All these people mentioned are the face of this achievement, Kian Smith is standing on the shoulders of many rural areas of the schist belt, government offices of mining ministries and parastatals, not to mention the academia in geosciences.

Whenever we think of our story, we see the fruit of Nigerians working together, when we choose to see the gold in ourselves and take the risk to mine it out. These are the risks we’ll have to take to produce gold in Nigeria. Kian Smith has been involved in gold exploration, mining, processing, ASGM training, safer mining & extraction solutions for several years before we decided to put all our experience together towards holistically studying the gold ecosystem of Nigeria. We saw the vast network and potential that hid in a sophisticated underground economy while the sector struggled aboveground and struggled with lack of data and funding...the very things that abundantly thrived underground.

We saw the establishment of a gold refinery and the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria as a key stakeholder in the gold market and as pivotal catalysts to creating a gold economy for West Africa with Nigeria as the centre. Nigeria will become the Dubai of the region.