Fadi A. Ghazale, is the Managing Director of AGVision Mining, a pre-eminent mineral exploration company in Nigeria. He is a guru in business administration and an assiduous Entrepreneur. In this exclusive interview with The Rock Post magazine, he bares his mind on NIMEP, Minerals exploration, artisanal mining and envisions what needs to be done to drag Nigeria onto the world Gold Mining Map. According to him ‘’Geologically, Nigeria is one of the last frontiers of underexplored orogenic gold systems in the world.’’ Excerpts:
Q. Please share with us a brief update on the ongoing National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project exercise.
R. The groundwork on the NIMEP project have been completed back in March, 2021, including all the drilling, mapping, sampling and geophysical survey programmes. All samples have been dispatched to an accredited laboratory, MS Analytical, in Canada. We have also received most of the results which are under compilation. We are now building a geological story out of the results at hand and equally preparing some resource estimation where possible as we are not able to raise a resource due to the limited quantity of drilling on some blocks as contained in the bill of quantity. At the moment, we are at data compilation stage and also providing some recommendations and conclusions for future work and targeting. Very soon, our interim report should be ready for QA/QC by the consultant.
Q. What would you say are some of the peculiarities on the Nigerian pattern on gold mineralization, if any?
R. Nigeria gold fields are among one of the last frontiers of underexplored orogenic gold systems in the world. The fact is, you rarely find a gold frontier that has not been explored. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Nigeria is one of these frontiers. In serious terms, maybe less than 5 percent is known about the gold mineralization in Nigeria, in view of the poor exploration activities that have taken place in the last 1 or 2 decades. Yes, there is a lot of potentials. Remember the schist belt spans from NW to SW, covering an area of 350,000 sqkm. Looking at most of it along that belt, you will notice most of the work is rudimentary in nature based on artisanal miners and other local workings. So very little is known about the deep mineralization. What we have realized as well is that there are different trends of mineralization, with a possibility of multiple fluid events having occurred in the Nigeria geological terrain. You cannot compare Zamfara State for instance to parts of Niger State along those parts closer to Suleja which may be different from llesha in Osun State etc. One of the captivating interests is the Nuggety nature of the gold in Nigeria which suggest the gold is not equally disseminated. This makes it more challenging for resource estimation as experienced by the resource geologist that wants to come up with a particular reserve. He will have to deal with inconsistencies in gold distribution – a challenging task for resource estimation.
Q. Relying on what you have achieved thus far, can you ascertain that Nigeria has what it takes to make an incursion into the world gold mining map?
R. The short answer is No, while the long answer is that the NIMEP project has proven that the potentials are open-ended. In the same vein, the development of Segilola or Thor gold project in Osun state is a geological landmark event that would place Nigeria on the global Gold Mining map. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, a lot of geoscientific data that needs to be developed. Remember that in Nigeria everyone works for himself. You hardly see people sharing information and data about their discoveries. With regards to the Nigeria Minerals and Mining act, this should be part of every company’s homework for reporting their activities and tangible discoveries. These data should be compiled and domiciled with NGSA and shared publicly online. This would provide a more graphic picture for mineral exploration and ultimately more visibility on the gold patterns in Nigeria.
Q. What is the maximum drilling depth you have attained, what technical indices informed this and please make comparison to other mining jurisdictions like Australia, South Africa etc. will you agree that this probe level is sufficient or what needs to be improved?
R. The drilling depth doesn’t matter at this stage since the mining industry is underexplored. I believe from zero to a hundred metres should be more than enough at this stage to mine what is obtainable on the surface before attempting to go deeper in the crust. The deepest hole we drilled is about 250 metres in Talata Mafara, Zamfara State, which is part of NIMEP. In comparison to other mining jurisdictions like Australia, I think we are not even close. South Africa have been drilling Kilometres underground because the resources on the surface have been depleted, hence the need to go deeper. In Nigeria, this is where the opportunities are since the minerals are still within the shallow surface, unexplored and unexploited. These potentials can be harnessed if value is provided for stakeholders.
Q. You are by default a sector consultant. How vibrant can you rate activities in the sector in Nigeria?
R. More geoscientific work needs to be gathered, more understanding and information needs to be provided for the companies intending to come into Nigeria. Most of the big players have Nigeria under their radar but first we need some success stories and second, we need more transparency in data sharing. It will be very helpful if investors can access data from the internet against travelling here and gathering same based on verbal discussions. I think a certain level of visibility needs to be provided in order to attract these big players. Also, they rely on junior exploration companies to do at least the first phase of the work. This provides them understanding before committing their resources. This is exactly what the NIMEP is all about, to provide that data foundation upon which the big players can act. These are the facts and the only way forward in my opinion.
Q. Thor exploration reported a gold resource in the region of 500,000 ounces. Compare and contrast between your exploratory work and theirs.
R. Thor is a great success story. However, it is worth noting that such project has a history of more than 20 years of geological exploration and drilling, and this is the nature of mineral exploration, as you cannot achieve a project overnight. Some take decades to be developed. In fact, the industry average is about 10 to 15 years to uncover deposits of this particular size. Added to that, Thor has relied on the best consultants in the world. It takes a team effort to migrate projects to that level in which mineral resources can become economically viable. In comparison to NIMEP, we are still at the infant stage. In some blocks, for instance, we have drilled 2,000m to 2,500m which is still considered an exploratory level drilling. Secondly, a success story mostly relies on drilling and analysis, speculation is eliminated. Thor is a fantastic success story and this is what the major players are looking for, which is moving a programme into production. Nigeria need to build on this momentum.
Q. In the last couple of decades, emphasis has shifted largely from substantive mining companies, who can be listed on the stock exchange, towards small scale/ artisanal mining, who perennially ask for public financial handouts. What is your candid advice to government to enable it attract the ‘big guns’ to Nigeria’s mining landscape?
R. We need to understand that the existence of artisanal mining is based on the necessity for survival. They are not doing this because they like it; it is a very harsh and toxic work. To address this matter, the government needs to provide some substitute for livelihood whether through farming, training and capacity building etc. it is a sad and unfortunate event for the mining narrative in Nigeria. Today, all the major and small companies see artisanal mining as a disadvantage for their activities for obvious reasons such as environment and land degradation along with the associated liabilities to any accident within the concession in the course of operating a mineral title. This is not a good story for Nigeria and we need to be more realistic by trying not to promote such activities as related to artisanal mining. Noticeably, some stakeholders are trying to market artisanal mining by remarking their contribution to the GDP. This is not a good advertisement rather, it will intimidate big companies. There is a very big gap, in terms of perception, between the international mining community and we as Nigerians.
Q. In order to improve the sector, what do you have to add on a final note?
R. I think the NIMEP efforts must be sustained. The momentum is rising but we need to build a bigger coalition to enable us drag the sector forward. The sector requires the following; consistent funding, special annual budget in relation to exploration and development of the mining industry and to upgrade the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office to an online system which is visible and accessible throughout the world. That way, the sector ecosystem can be dispassionately analyzed anywhere depending on the need. In fact, the title holders in some of the sites we are operating only became apparent as we progressed. Therefore, visibility cannot be overemphasized. These are key elements for the sectors development. As it relates to the sector’s laws and regulations, let me emphasize that we cannot change our laws now. Granted, politics cannot be wished away as observed between state and federal governments’ tussle over rights on mining title management. It is still premature to change the laws regarding the sector. That will indicate a sense of insecurity of titles for intending investors, which is the current biggest enemy of Nigeria. This law must be sustained for at least the next 20 to 30 years. Upgrades can be accommodated where necessary in some places because every law has a certain kind of loophole but the foundation must remain firm. Even talking about the possibility of changing the laws is the first enemy of the mining industry in Nigeria.
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