More than 80% of Nigeria's tin deposits today occur at a depth of 36 metres below the ground
, twice as deep as twenty years ago. Although the mineral accounts for only a minor fraction of the country's foreign exchange, it appropriately indicates the gravity of obstacles facing the country's mining sector in general. In the years to come, Nigeria's high hopes for a more impressive standing in world affairs are certain be determined in part at least by how deep it manages to dig!