Adegbite Woos Investors To Nigeria’s Mining Sector

Posted by Eric Ojo Business News, Latest Headlines Friday, January 14th, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Nigeria’s Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite has called on investors from Saudi Arabia and across the globe to invest in the mining sector of the Nigerian economy.

The minister made the call while addressing international investors during the just concluded Mining Conference in Riyadh Saudi, Saudi Arabia.

Describing the Nigerian mining sector as one of the most investor friendly in the world, Adegbite said the Federal Government intends to auction rights to mine some strategic minerals later this year.

He also disclosed that some major mining companies had begun to express interest in the sector, adding that the country is richly endowed with the mineral of the future, which according to him, can power electric cars and phones.

“We have strengthened governance and transparency in the sector and provided assurance to investors through the upgrade, automation, and decentralization of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO).

“We are improving the connectivity between investors and the public with important geological information through the establishment of a Nigeria Geo-Data Centre at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency” he said.

In a statement by his Special Assistant (SA) on Media, Ayodeji Adeyemi, the minister noted that the country had learnt its lessons from over 50 years of resource extraction.

“As we deepen our efforts to revitalize the mining sector, we are doing so with lessons learnt from a half-century of resource extraction. We recognize, for instance, that it is not enough to seek investments merely for the sake of exploitation and extraction.

“Rather than writing this new chapter of economic growth, our aim is to develop local industries, generate employment, and focus on resource beneficiation to create wealth along the mineral value chain”, he added.

Adegbite equally disclosed that the Federal Government had invested $50 million to explore gold, lithium and several other metals.

“To date the country has discovered over 44 minerals occurring in commercial quantities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). These include gold, lithium, copper, cobalt, oxide, amongst others”, he stressed.