EXPORT CONNECT: Copper Ore (crushed to 20mm)

There is a serious demand for about 1,000MT of Copper Ore by different exporters in Lagos at a very competitive price per MT. The Copper Ore needed is expected to be crushed to 20mm and the specifications required are as follows:

• Purity:                                 10-20% 
• Size (Length, Breath):          20mm max 
• Moisture:                             3% max 
• Packing :                              50kg bags

Interested suppliers should urgently contact us via info@3timpex.com or 08036522946.

Thanks

EXPORT CONNECT: Demand For Mica (Muscovite)

There is a serious demand for about 500MT of Mica (muscovite type) by different exporters in Lagos at a very competitive price per MT. The type of Mica needed is shown in the picture above and the specifications required are as follows:

• Colour:                                Light green.
• Purity:                                 No impurities, No spot, Very Clean
• Size (Length, Breath):          1.5 inches (98% minimum) .
• Thickness:                           3-20mm
• Packing :                              50kg bags

Interested suppliers should urgently contact us via info@3timpex.com  or 08036522946.

Thanks 

Product Profile: Sesame Seeds

Description: Sesame seeds (or sesamum or benniseed) are the seeds of the tropical annual Sesamum indicum. The species has a long history of cultivation, mostly for its yield of oil. The original area of domestication of sesame is obscure but it seems likely to have first been brought into cultivation in Asia or India.

The plant is usually 60 to 120cm tall and the fruit is a dehiscent capsule held close to the stem. When ripe, the capsule shatters to release a number of small seeds. The seeds are protected by a fibrous ‘hull’ or skin, which may be whitish to brown or black depending on the variety. 1000 seeds weigh some 4-8g. The seeds have a high oil content of 44-60%.

Harvest: Harvesting begins in late December and continues through July. Each producing area stated in the next section below (Locations) has only one season.

Locations: The major producing areas in order of priority are Nasarawa, Jigawa and Benue States. Other important areas of production are found in Yobe, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Gombe and Plateau States. The major marketing centers (towns and states) of sesame seeds in Nigeria.

                               

Town	State
Doma	Nasarawa
Malam-Madori	Jigawa
Potiskum	Yobe
Oturkpo	Benue
Dawanau	Kano

Types/Varieties: There are 3 types of sesame (and these include: White, Black and Brown/Mixed sesame seeds). However only two of these are majorly produced in Nigeria and these includes;

1. White/raw = Food-grade used in bakery industry. 98-100% whitest grade seeds.

2. Brown/mixed = primarily oil-grade.

The White (Food Grade) seed is grown around the towns of Keffi, Lafia/Makurdi, Doma, and in Nassarawa, Taraba, and Benue States. It is easier to sort and the Fumani/Denin people consume sesame locally. The Brown/mixed grows in the North, in Kano State and in Jigawa State near Hadejia, and somewhat in the southern part of Katsina State.

Specifications

Features	% percentage
Oil content	45-60% min
Impurities	0-2%max
Free fatty acid (FFA)	1-2%max
Moisture content	6-9% max

Export market: The major importer of sesame seeds in the world is Japan while the major consuming markets in the EU are Greece, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. In the past, the bulk of sesame was imported from China. Increasingly, other sources such as India, Sudan and, most recently, Pakistan, are taking the market share. The USA is the fifth largest import market with a steady demand for over 50,000 tonnes per year.

Export Price: The export free on board price of sesame seed varies from USD 900 -1400/MT depending on the type and form of the sesame seed and the negotiation made with the buyers.

Local price: local price per metric tonne MT of sesame seed varies from NGN120,000.00 during the peak season to about NGN140,000.00 at the off season. However local price when delivered EXW Lagos (delivered in Lagos) could range from NGN150,000 – 200,000.00/MT depending on the period during the season.

Uses: Most sesame is processed directly into oil by the grower or within the producing region, but can also be sold in various stages of processing, for various uses, such as meal, paste, confections, and bakery products.

Input	Products	Description and Uses
Seeds	Confectionery	Fried seeds may be bound together with sugar syrup to give sweetmeats.
Seeds	Biscuits	The whole seeds can be baked into biscuits.
(Hulled) seeds	Bakery	Popular in northern Europe either incorporated into breads or as decorative toppings. May be used hulled or whole.
Seeds, sometimes roasted	Oil	Particularly used in oriental cuisine. The flavor is quite strong and rarely compatible with traditional Western style cooking but also used as a salad oil.
Oil	Medicinal treatment	Ulcers and burns
Oil	Margarine	Once an important use, now other cheaper vegetable oils are available
Oil	Aerosol	Reported use as a synergist for pyrethrum sprays
Low grade oil	Various	Soaps paints, lubricants, and illuminants. Local uses, of no importance in international trade
Hulled seeds	Tahini	A paste of sesame seeds which is used as an ingredient in eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods
Tahini	Dips &spreads	Various ingredients, such as chickpeas or eggplants, are added to Tahini to make dips and spreads such as hummus
Tahini	Halva	A sweet made from Tahini and sugar with other added flavorings
Cake	Animal feed	Protein rich useful supplement
Cake from hulled seeds	Ingredient	Used in some Indian cooking. Also as a snack in, for example, the Nigerian Kulikuli

Product Profile: Shea Butter

Description: Shea butter is a slightly yellowish or ivory colored natural fat extracted from the seed of the African shea tree by crushing and boiling. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer and salve. Shea nuts are primarily grown in West and Central Africa in the semi-arid Sahel,referred to by traders as the "Shea Belt". Vitellaria paradoxa and Vitellaria nilotica are the two main varieties. Vitellaria paradoxa is exported in the largest volume and grows throughout the West African region.

Vitellaria nilotica is produced primarily in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. Shea nut products, the solid fat (butter or

stearin) and the liquid oil (olein), are ideal for use as raw materials in cooking oil, margarine, cosmetics, soap, detergents and candles, but it has found its primary market niche as a substitute for cocoa butter in the chocolate and confectionery industry.

Harvest: Shea nut trees grow widely and naturally in West Africa. They only begin to bear fruit after about 20 years and do not reach maturity for 45 years. They may continue to produce nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.  The nuts, which are embedded in a soft fruit, fall to the ground during the harvesting period (typically June through August). In most African countries, the main harvest lasts from October to March and the interim harvest from May to August They are then buried in pits which cause the pulp to ferment and disintegrate and produce enough heat to prevent germination. The nuts are dried for a few days and are later shelled and winnowed, usually by hand. The kernels are dried further to reduce moisture content from about 40 percent to about 7 percent.

Locations: Sheanut grows in the wild across the Sudan-Sahelian region of Africa. The major producing countries are: Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Uganda, Mali, Burkina Faso and Central African Republic. Nigeria is currently the leading producer of Sheanut in the world and in 2004 Nigeria's production of the commodity was 414,000 metric tonnes with export value of US$61.04 million (Source: FAO).  Shea butter is produced in Kwara State at Ode-Giwa in the Asa Local Government are and also in Minna area of Niger state in Nigeria. Other states include kogi, Oyo and Ogun state.

Specifications/Grades: 

Shea butter is graded based on a number of factors. For some buyers, It could be based on the percentage of the expected vital constituents present in the sample while some other buyers use the level of refining and contamination present as their criteria. Based on the percentage of the expected vital constituents present, Shea butter can be graded as shown in the table below.

 

Based on the level of refining done and contamination present, shea butter is now classified into five grades: A (raw or unrefined, extracted using water), B (refined), C (highly refined and extracted with solvents such as hexane), D (lowest uncontaminated grade), E (with contaminants). Commercial grades are A, B, C. The color of raw (grade A) butter ranges from cream (like whipped butter) to grayish yellow, and it has a nutty aroma which is removed in the other grades. Grade C is pure white. Grade A retains the most natural vitamins, especially vitamin A and vitamin E, which are partially lost in the other grades.

Uses

Traditionally, African shea butter is used for cooking oil, as a water proofing wax, for hairdressing and for candle-making; and also as an ingredient of medicinal ointments.

Industrially, shea butter is used in cosmetics production, such as moisturizer creams and emulsion, and hair conditioners for dry and brittle hair. It is also used by soap makers, typically in small amounts (5-7% of the oils in the recipe), because of its property of leaving a small amount of oil in the soap. Shea butter is also used as an ingredient in chocolate fillings.

Medicinally, Shea butter is used as a base for medicinal ointments, and has been claimed to have anti-inflammatory properties emollient and humectants. Shea butter has been claimed to be effective treatment for the following conditions: fading scars, eczema, burns, rashes, severely dry skin, dark spots, skin discolorations, chapped lips, stretchmarks, wrinkles, and in lessening the irritation of psoriasis.

New Commercial Uses

·         Shea based adhesives, resins, and composites

·         Shea Plastics and compounding

·         Shea conversion into chemicals, solvents, and fuels

·         Nutritional value and characterization Total utilization of shea materials for new commercial uses

Export market: Shea butter is becoming increasingly popular as an ingredient in cosmetics and soaps, especially in France and the US. Major destinations for Nigeria's Sheanut are the EU and Japan while for the shea butter are Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Export Price: Buyers in Europe and the United States are quote FOB prices ranging from USD2,500-4,000/MT depending on the quality and quantity of product ordered) for unrefined shea butter from Abidjan, Accra or Lagos packed in 20 pound dark plastic sacks or 50 kilo dark plastic containers or coated steel drums.

Local price: The local market price of shea butter per MT ranges from NGN300, 000.00 to NGN500, 000.00 to deliver it to Lagos during the season.

Product Profile: Kaolin

Description: kaolin, also called china clay, soft white clay that is an essential ingredient in the manufacturing. In its natural state kaolin is a white, soft powder consisting principally of the mineral kaolinite. Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedral. Rocks that are rich in kaolinite are known as kaolin or china clay.

Occurrence: Kaolinite clay occurs in abundance in soils that have formed from the chemical weathering of rocks in hot, moist climates—for example in tropical rainforest areas. Comparing soils along a gradient towards progressively cooler or drier climates, the proportion of kaolinite decreases, while the proportion of other clay minerals such as illite (in cooler climates) or smectite (in drier climates) increases. Such climatically-related differences in clay mineral content are often used to infer changes in climates in the geological past, where ancient soils have been buried and preserved.

Locations: An estimated reserve of 3 billion tonnes of good kaolinific clays has been identified.  It has been discovered in almost all the states in Nigeria like Uzubulu in Anambra, Enugu in Enugu state, Major Porter in Plateau, Darazo in Bauchi, Jalgawa in Bauchi, Barmojo and Onibode in Ogun state, Kwali in FCT, Kotanara in FCT, Other states where

available are Katsina, Kebbi, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi, Niger and Kaduna States

Specifications: Kaolin specifications consist of physical and chemical aspects. The two area of specifications are shown in the Table below.

Physical Specification

Specifications	Value
Whiteness (%)	≥93.5
Particle size (-2μm,%)	80-84
Residue on 325mesh (%)	≤0.003
Oil absorption (g/100g)	55-65
PH	6.0-8.0
Water content (%)	≤1.0
Average particle size(μm)	≤0.9
Refractivity	1.62
Dispersion (μm)	≤45

Chemical specification

SiO2%	Al2O3%	Fe2O3%	TiO2%	CaO%	MgO%	K2O%	NaO%	MnO%
52±2	45±2	≤0.5	≤0.8	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.004

Uses: Approximately 40 percent of the kaolin produced is used in the filling and coating of paper. In filling, the kaolin is mixed with the cellulose fibre and forms an integral part of the paper sheet to give it body, colour, opacity, and printability. In coating, the kaolin is plated along with an adhesive on the paper’s surface to give gloss, colour, high opacity, and greater printability. Kaolin used for coating is prepared so that most of the kaolinite particles are less than two micrometers in diameter. Kaolin is used extensively in the ceramic industry, where its high fusion temperature and white burning characteristics makes it particularly suitable for the manufacture of whiteware (china), porcelain, and refractories. Substantial tonnages of kaolin are used for filling rubber to improve its mechanical strength and resistance to abrasion. For this purpose, the clay used must be extremely pure kaolinite and exceedingly fine grained. Kaolin is also used as an extender and flattening agent in paints. It is frequently used in adhesives for paper to control the penetration into the paper. Kaolin is an important ingredient in ink, organic plastics, some cosmetics, and many other products where its very fine particle size, whiteness, chemical inertness, and absorption properties give it particular value.

Export market: The major export markets Iron ore is China. Other buyers next to china include India, Bangladesh, USA, South Africa, Japan and Hong Kong.

Export Price: Depending on the purity and other components of the Kaolin the FOB price could be as low as USD100-150/MT and it could be as high as USD200-300/MT or more.

Local price: The local market price of Kaolin at the loading point could vary from NGN5,000-NGN7,000/MT or more.