NMDC made significant contribution to Nigeria economy- Prof Asuquo

NMDC made significant contribution to Nigeria economy- Prof Asuquo

The Director General and Chairman Chief Executive of the National Metallurgical Development Centre Jos Engr. Prof. Linus O. Asuquo has disclosed that NMDC has made significant contribution to the development of Nigeria economy through the provision of R&D services in the mineral and metallurgical sector of the nation. 

Engr. Prof. Asuquo made the statement while delivering his speech on a one day working visit and signing of memorandum of understand between the National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) and the Nigeria Defense Academy (NDA).

The versatile academician turn administrator reveals that NMDC contributions range from the conduct routine test and material identification services to major R&D undertakings. 

He said, the centre has successfully perfected the process of benefication of the Itakpe Iron Ore into super-concentrates that met the required specification of the direct reduction steel plant at Alaska, Delta State. 

Furthermore, Engr. Prof. Asuquo also reveals that Nigeria is endowed with vast coal deposit but those coals are poorly coking and as a result cannot be wholly used for production of Metallurgical coke, a very vital ingredient for steel production via the blast furnace process.

He said, this problem informed the centre's studies on Nigerian coals to increase their utilization in the blends for Metallurgical coke production at Ajaokuta steel plant. 

He also revealed that the centre's laboratory coal blending carbonization studies which indicated that certain percentage of Nigerian coals can be utilized in the blends for Metallurgical coke production necessitated the construction of a coke oven pilot plant here at NMDC, Jos for testing these result at industrial scale. 

In his part, Major General Jamil Sarham the Commandant Nigeria Defense Academy (NDA) who was represented by the Deputy Commandant Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Ibrahim Ali thank the Director General NMDC for the warm reception accorded to him and all his team. 

AVM Ali disclosed that they were in the National Metallurgical Development Centre Jos to signed a memorandum of understanding between the NMDC and the NDA in matters pertaining the establishment of academic and scholarly corporative linkages and collaboration that will be of mutual benefits to the two institutions. 

He said this corporation will be in the long run promote scientific and technical development of the country, especially as has reached an advance stage for the establishment of a centre for research in solid minerals at the Nigeria Defense Academy NDA .

AVM Ali further stated that " as we are aware the Nigeria Defense Academy has been a training institution for young military officers into the Nigeria military armed forces, however in 1985 it was upgraded to university degree awarding institute. And since then we have been offering various curses and having different kind of memorandum of understanding with different institutions. 

He said "NDA stand to benefit a lot from the NMDC, and having gone round to see things for ourselves and from the background information I heard even before I step into the institution today, this institution is very important to the development of the mineral resources in the country.