By Ngozi Onyeakusi ____The Federal Government has sealed a $10 billion gold production deal with La Mancha, a Luxembourg-Incorporated Private Gold Development and Mining.
La Mancha signed the expression of interest agreement with the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to invest in gold mining in Nigeria.
The signing ceremony was coordinated by the Egyptian African Arab Co. for Devpt (EGAAD) in Cairo, Egypt.

Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah signed on behalf of Nigeria, while the Chairman of La Mancha, Naguib Sawiris, signed on behalf of the Company.

Chairman of La Mancha, Naguib Sawiris disclosed that the signing of the document was its way of formally expressing the company’s interest to begin earnest operations in Nigeria.
He stated that as a company, La Mancha was continually looking at new opportunities to expand its investment in gold mining across Africa, adding that Nigeria possessed enough gold deposits to attract investment.

At the ceremony, Dr. Ogah noted that Nigeria stands to benefit immensely from the partnership with La Mancha, with portfolio companies such as Endeavour Mining, Golden Star Resources & others, & with a market capital in excess of US$10bn & over 1.2Moz of gold production.
“Our ultimate goal is to attract investors with the technical and financial competence to invest in our solid minerals sector, from detailed exploration to mining, development, processing and refining to producing standard ores in Nigeria,” Ogah said.