Nigeria is endowed with enormous mineral occurrences and deposits these include Base and Precious metals minerals which have remained largely under developed due to Nigeria's preoccupation with its oil industry. Although these two groups of minerals have been mined  since 1903 as evidenced by the existence of several  abandoned colonial  base and precious metal camps on the Jos Plateau , Sokoto, Kaduna, llesha and Calabar, the experience gained has not translated to modern mining as the case is  for example with mines of  South African, Ghana and Zambia. Whereas the proven tin reserves on the Jos Plateau stands at about 31,773 tonnes,  that of Iron Ore is about 200 million tonnes with an estimated  life-span of over 100 years. The commercial ore grades range in ferrous (Fe) content  from rich ores with over 50 per cent Fe, mediurn grade ores (30 - 50 per cent Fe), to poor ores (25  - 30 per cent Fe). The iron ore is expected to feed the Ajaokuta Steel Plant and for the production of super-concentrates at 68 per cent Fe, for the Delta Steel Plant at Aladja near Warri. Lead and Zinc minerals occur in commercial quantities in the Benue Trough, in a narrow belt over 560 km stretching from Ishiagu in the south-east to Bauchi State. Small-scale mining has been carried out in Abakaliki area, where reserves of about 100,000 tonnes of lead and 80,000 tonnes of zinc have been estimated. Other major lead-zinc occurrences are found Ameka, Ameri in Ebonyi State, Arufu and Zurak in Taraba State. Columbite, the ore for niobium, occurs in association with tin deposits on the Jos Plateau, and in Bauchi and Kano States. Associated mainly with the schist belts of the western half of Nigeria, Gold in Nigeria is found in alluvial, eluvial and primary veins from several parts of the schist belts in the Northwest and Southwest Nigeria. The reserves of gold occur in Okolom/Kogi State, with grades from 1.0-36g/ton; Dogondaji/Kogi State with grade values from 1.0-75g/ ton; Waya/Kebbi State, with grade values 0.4 - 11g/ton amongst several others. These minerals are very strategic to the growth and development of the country especially with regards to the provision of much needed strategic metals and alloys for the manufacturing in Industries and for exports. Although there are high prospects for the development of bases and precious in Nigeria, currently there are no significant modern mining companies in the country and most mining activities are either small-scale or artisanal.