Dukia Gold, Philoro partner to deepen precious metals value chain

Dukia Gold and Precious Metals Refining Company. Ltd., Nigeria says it has signed a 'Working Together Agreement' with Philoro Global Trading AG, Switzerland to develop the precious metals small scale and artisanal gold mining value chain.

Mr Paul Beesley, Chief Operating Officer(COO), Dukia Gold and Precious Metals Refining Company Ltd., was quoted to have said this in statement on Friday in Lagos.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement on the sidelines of the Investing in African Mining, at Indaba in Capetown, Beesley said that the objective of the "Working Together Agreement" was to establish a Precious Metals Trading Programme centered in Nigeria.

According to him, it will serve and support the Nigerian market and potentially use it as a basis to offer similar products to other African markets.

Beesley said the agreement which was endorsed by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development would deepen participation in the extractive industry.

He said it would consolidate strategies in the development of programmes needed to exploit the expected benefits in the sector.

Beesley noted that the partnership would also assist in developing finance and technical support solutions to unlock Dukia Gold's responsible sourcing of Dore strategies.

This, he said, include evaluation and development of new projects as well as supporting small scale and artisanal mining programmes.

The partnership, the Chief Operating Officer said, will strengthen and expand the Dukia Gold Precious Metals Refinery in support of the goal to aggregate gold doré from third-party sources in Nigeria and across West Africa.

He said the ultimate target was to produce world class good delivery bars and coins.

He said: "Our commitment to work together with Dukia Gold will further promote and develop other important and relevant opportunities in the precious metals value chain in Nigeria and West Africa.

"This is through skills and knowledge transfer, capacity and capability building and the institution of beneficial engagements with host communities.

"These are challenging objectives, but we are confident that with the right relationships and working within the right enabling environment we can achieve these and more.

"Together with Philoro Global Trading AG, Switzerland, we are embarking on a long-term relationship and will use our combined successes to build and showcase what is possible.

"These incremental victories then will form the basis for encouraging further expansion of the vision through definitive commitments with other global entities whose capabilities will further add to a more sustainable precious metals mining, refining and trading supply chain in Nigeria."

Dukia Gold is listed on the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) and licensed to trade good delivery gold products on the LCFE, thus making gold available for purchase and investment by Nigerians on the floor of the Exchange, while Heritage Bank is the main-driver and settlement of the gold eco-system in Nigeria.

Also speaking at the event, Mr Rudolf Brenner the President of Philoro, said the company was delighted to expand its presence and global vision in Africa through its partnership with Dukia Gold.

Brenner said: "We at Philoro are thus delighted to expand our presence and actualisation of our global vision and objectives in Africa and particularly Nigeria through this Working Together Agreement with Dukia Gold and other identified stakeholders in the "Mines to Market " initiative.

"The support which Dukia Gold has received from, and the commitment of the minister and the top echelon of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to the development of the mining sector in Nigeria are even more reassuring to our further engagements into the African continent.

"Today's signing is a milestone, but we believe it's only a first step in a long relationship between the parties.

"The presence of the Minister and indeed the ambiance of this gathering sends a positive message, that Nigeria is a mining investment destination."

He said the collaboration between the two companies showed that it was possible to bring together open minds in an enabling environment.

"The teams have been working between Lagos, Abuja, London, Zurich, Vienna and Johannesburg to develop solutions that will benefit Nigeria, Nigerians, Dukia Gold and Philoro Global.

"It is a true success story in the making about the value of diversity.

"We have 18 offices across Europe that together with corporate clients, represents sales of roughly 20 tonnes of gold, generating approximately 1.7 billion euros in revenue per annum.

"Our mission is to provide our customers with a wide range of investment grade precious metals products that will ensure their prosperity," Brenner added.

In a general remark on the signing of the agreement, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, thanked everyone and said that the ceremony was quite a simple affair but with a significance important.

Adegbite said: "This is a fundamental major step towards trading of gold and gold products in Nigeria. Dukia Gold has been a frontier company blazing trails where other people have not been.

"They have done so much to try and bring the value chain in the gold business, gold assets to ordinary Nigerians."

According to him, the agreement will further deepen the collaboration with Philoro and its experience in the industry.

He said with the development, Nigeria would have access to gold assets for investment.

"In this day of instability in currencies and volatility all over the world, gold being a safe haven does not have to be the exclusive of the wealthy, rich. Nigerians can buy gold coins which they can keep and invest on and trade.

"We are all part of this epoch-making event and I'm happy that we are all here today to witness this symbolic signing ceremony.

"I hope to see them grow as this business grows and we can all look back some 10 years later and see how far we have come from this simple ceremony," Adegbite added.

According to the minister, the strategic business relationship between Philoro and Dukia ("Friend of Gold Assets") will lead to the Definitive Actualisation of Critical Precious Metals Value Chain opportunities and projects in Nigeria and across West African countries.

He said, "Dukia Gold and Philoro are both driven by highly motivated pioneers who have taken up the risks of giving investment in Gold in Nigeria the seriousness it deserves."