Bitumen

Nigeria is blessed with abundant mineral resources and most of these remain untapped. The country is so blessed with solid minerals and in large quantities too. Due to presence of oil in the country as well the government has not devoted enough time to the solid mineral sector although it has started by declaring its intension to support investors in this sector. This it has done by streamlining the process of acquisition of mining title and setting aside solid mineral support fund for investors in the sector. One of such minerals that Nigeria has in abundance is Bitumen

Asphalt also known as bitumen is a sticky, black, and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. The primary use (70%) of asphalt is in road construction, where it is used as the glue or binder mixed with aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt and for sealing flat roofs.

Naturally occurring asphalt is sometimes specified by the term “crude bitumen”. Its viscosity is similar to that of cold molasses while the material obtained from the fractional distillation of crude oil boiling at 525 °C (977 °F) is sometimes referred to as “refined bitumen”.

In Nigeria, bitumen typically occurs both on the surface and sub-surface. The estimated probable reserves of bitumen in Ondo State (Southwest region of Nigeria) is 16 billion barrels, while that of tar sands and heavy oil is estimated at 42 billion barrels, almost as twice the amount of existing reserves of crude petroleum.Nigeria has the second largest deposit of bitumen in the world, spanning approximately 120km.

When fully developed, the industry will no doubt meet not only local requirements of the substance for road construction, but also become a foreign exchange earner for the country (Nigeria). Currently, the bitumen used in Nigeria is processed from imported heavy crudes, in addition to bitumen imported to supplement local consumption. Heavy and extra heavy crude can be extracted from Nigerian tar sands, and sulphur and phenol can be derived from these crude grades. The mining of Bitumen in Nigeria needs to start off and government is willing to support serious investors because of the extensive use of Bitumen.

APPILICATION

Global use

The vast majority of refined asphalt is used in construction: primarily as a constituent of products used in paving and roofing applications. According to the requirements of the end use, asphalt is produced to specification. This is achieved either by refining or blending. It is estimated that the current world use of asphalt is approximately 122 million tonnes per year. Approximately 85% of all the asphalt produced is used as the binder in asphalt concrete for roads. It is also used in other paved areas such as airport runways, car parks and footways. Typically, the production of asphalt concrete involves mixing fine and coarse aggregates such as sand, gravel and crushed rock with asphalt, which acts as the binding agent.

A further 10% of global asphalt production is used in roofing applications, where its waterproofing qualities are invaluable. The remaining 5% of asphalt is used mainly for sealing and insulating purposes in a variety of building materials, such as pipe coatings, carpet tile backing and paint. Asphalt is applied in the construction and maintenance of many structures, systems, and components, such as the following:

• Highways
• Airport runways
• Footways and pedestrian ways
• Car parks
• Racetracks
• Tennis courts
• Roofing
• Damp proofing
• Dams
• Reservoir and pool linings
• Soundproofing
• Pipe coatings
• Cable coatings
• Paints
• Building water proofing
• Tile underlying waterproofing
• Newspaper ink production
• and many other applications

 

Mastic asphalt

Mastic asphalt is a type of asphalt that differs from dense graded asphalt (asphalt concrete) in that it has higher asphalt (binder) content, usually around 7–10% of the whole aggregate mix, as opposed to rolled asphalt concrete, which has only around 5% asphalt. This thermoplastic substance is widely used in the building industry for waterproofing flat roofs and tanking underground. Mastic asphalt is heated to a temperature of 210 °C (410 °F) and is spread in layers to form an impervious barrier about 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) thick.

Asphalt emulsion

A number of technologies allow asphalt to be mixed at much lower temperatures. These involve mixing with petroleum solvents to form “cutbacks” with reduced melting point or mixing with water to turn the asphalt into an emulsion. Asphalt emulsions contain up to 70% asphalt and typically less than 1.5% chemical additives. There are two main types of emulsions with different affinity for aggregates, cationic and anionic. Asphalt emulsions are used in a wide variety of applications. Chipseal involves spraying the road surface with asphalt emulsion followed by a layer of crushed rock, gravel or crushed slag. Slurry seal involves the creation of a mixture of asphalt emulsion and fine crushed aggregate that is spread on the surface of a road. Cold-mixed asphalt can also be made from asphalt emulsion to create pavements similar to hot-mixed asphalt, several inches in depth, and asphalt emulsions are also blended into recycled hot-mix asphalt to create low-cost pavements.

Other uses

Roofing shingles account for most of the remaining asphalt consumption. Other uses include cattle sprays, fence-post treatments, and waterproofing for fabrics. Asphalt is used to make Japan black, a lacquer known especially for its use on iron and steel, and it is also used in paint and marker inks by some exterior paint supply companies to increase the weather resistance and permanence of the paint or ink, and to make the color darker. Asphalt is also used to seal some alkaline batteries during the manufacturing process

 

EXPORT OF BITUMEN

Market for bitumen exists in USA, China and many other countries but going by the domestic need for bitumen in Nigeria export of same is clearly would not be necessary especially in the foreseeable future. Investment is needed heavily in this sector to reduce the heavy burden the import of heavy crude from which almost all Nigeria bitumen is extracted. A savvy investor who goes into this area will reap bountifully and have opportunity to access government support as government wants the sector developed so as to be able to engage in numerous road construction without allowing the import of the heavy crude to continue to constitute a burden on Nigeria foreign exchange.

REFINING

This facility do not exist in the Nigeria presently thus it presents a fantastic investment opportunity for a savvy investor to take advantage of, such investor will extract and refine the bitumen and then sell to local and international buyers. This fetches more return on investment even though the investment is huge

 

REQUIREMENT AND CONDITIONS FOR MINING IN NIGERIA

There are two options available to a company or an individual to enter into the mining industry in Nigeria.

1. Through the acquisition of an existing mining Lease from the original owner. Approval must be obtained from the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development for such a purchase.
2. Fresh mining lease

 

Procedure for Mineral Title Licences/Leases and Permits:

Duly completed application form

Coordinates of the area of application

Certificate of incorporation

Attestation

Letter of consent from landowner(s)/occupier(s)

Types of minerals

Work programme/pre-feasibility report

Evidence of payment

Technical capability

Financial capability

 

In order to encourage investment in the solid minerals industry in Nigeria, Government is offering the following incentives

1. 3-5 years Tax Holiday
2. Deferred royalty payments
3. Possible capitalization of expenditure on exploration and surveys
4. Extension of infrastructure such as roads and electricity to mining sites, and provision of 100% foreign ownership of mining concerns.

The mining industry in Nigeria is regulated by the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, National Minerals and Metals Policy 2008 and Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations 2011.

 

CONCLUSION

Business Advisory Network ‘BAN’ will work with you and assist you to process mining lease from the federal government. We will help you source for a site with rich mineral content. Mining is a technical field although the financial reward is enormous; therefore to succeed you need experts to guide you to avoid fatal mistakes that will erode your capital.

Other things BAN can do for you include but are not limited to helping you to determine the grade of Bitumen at the site, source market for your mined Bitumen, both locally and internationally. BAN will also help you arrange security at your mining sites. It will interest you to know that export of refined Bitumen is where you will make a kill. BAN will help you to set up a Bitumen refinery in Nigeria. The capital outlay for this is huge but even so much more is the return on investment. If we have refined Bitumen in Nigeria it will be easy for a Nigeria government to do expansive road construction at a reduced cost.