By ABAH SUNDAY, Abuja
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr Oladele Alake has hinted of imminent reforms in the mining industry that will separate genuine businessmen interested in long-term and value-added investment from ‘adventurers’ carting away raw minerals.
The Minister dropped the hint while addressing the Mining Ministers Forum at the China Mining Week 2023 holding in Tianji, China on Thursday, a statement, signed by the head of Media and Public Relations in the ministry, Alaba Balogun, said.
Dr Alake expressed optimism that the new mineral development roadmap of the federal government will solve the lingering problems of the sector.
He said the proposed Nigerian Solid Minerals Development Company (SMDC) will mobilise domestic and international capital and technology to raise industrial capacity of the sector.
Stressing the importance of geological data to mining finance and exploration, Dr Alake said, “The Tinubu administration will invest massively in critical data to make it easier to attract investors to the sector while putting in place social and governance standards to protect the environment.”
The minister said the government is currently engaging artisanal miners to formalise labour and small enterprises in the sector by joining co-operatives to widen access to training, extension services, machinery and credit.
He assured investors of orderly industrial environment, adding that the new security architecture for the sector will combine the formal agencies of enforcement with community safety organs to combat threats and protect miners.
Allaying the fears of interferences in mining operations by sub-national agencies, Dr Alake said the Tinubu administration had developed cordial relations between the federal and state governments, and that the ministry recently hosted the governors’ forum to resolve pertinent issues.
He advised prospective investors to include the industrial processing of minerals in their business plans adding that a new regime of compulsory value addition as investment condition will soon be in place.