BUA expands mining portfolio, acquires major stake in PW Nigeria

BUA Group has acquired majority stakes in PW Nigeria, a mining, engineering, procurement, construction and infrastructure company.

In a statement on Monday, the group said the acquisition which was finalised in March will deepen its investments in the mining and infrastructure business in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chris McQuillan, PW Nigeria’s mining director, said the acquisition is strategic to promote mining opportunities for the Nigerian economy through turn-key mining solutions, executed to world-class standards.

McQuillan said the company has been in the industry for years and successfully executed private and public projects for well-known local and foreign companies.

“It is difficult not to get excited by the opportunities that exist in Nigeria’s mining sector which remains largely untapped. We recently spent some time in the British geological survey going through mining records for the region that dates back to the early 1900s,” he said.

“A lot of enthusiasm existed during this period, we want to reignite this enthusiasm and bring the sector back to life.

“We are currently the mining contractor of choice with Imperial JV and Lafarge Holcim in Nigeria as well as other major players in the mining sector.

“PWN has secured an initial investment from a consortium of Irish-Canadian mining investors on three gold targets in Niger state. The investment will be used for further exploration of these targets in the form of geo-chemistry, aero magnetics, reverse circulation drilling, diamond drilling and fire assays.

“PWN currently holds the Lafarge Ashaka overburden project which sees the extraction of 3.2m BCM of overburden annually. PWN also hold the Lafarge Ewekoro quarry project which oversees the removal of 500,000 BCM of overburden to expose limestone, the drill and blast, load and haul and ROM refeed of 3.5 m tonnes of limestone annually”.

“BUA group is one of the largest companies in Nigeria with one of its subsidiaries BUA Cement being one of the largest companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and is a perfect fit for PWN with its strong capital base, quarrying possibilities and its commitment to improving infrastructure in Nigeria. With their help and support, PWN will be able to advance its mining portfolio.”

BUA Group is a food and infrastructure conglomerate and its subsidiaries specialise in the production of cement, sugar, rice and edible oils.