As Nigeria intensifies efforts to harness its rich potentials in the mineral sector, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite has said the National Geodata Centre is yet another avenue to bring potential investors in contact with the country’s underneath-the-earth resources.
The Minister said this latest achievement will drive a renewed interest in the sector, expressing hope that the Centre will synergise with relevant establishments, including the National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency (NSRMEA) to enhance accessibility of geoscience data in the country.
Arch. Adegbite spoke at the formal unveiling of the National Geodata Centre domiciled at Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The Minister did not hide his joy that this significant achievement was recorded while he is still in office, even as the clock ticks towards the end of the current administration May 29.
Rich mining destinations across the world, including Australia, Canada, Namibia in Africa, are successful on the account of policy framework that guarantees open access to geoscience data, the Minister stated, pointing out that a Geodata Centre represents the long-term national asset essential for identifying the mineral potentials of a country.
“It is common knowledge that mining companies of many countries are willing to choose, and they decide where to go and invest based on the availability of data, so as to minimize their risk and, of course, maximize their profit,” Adegbite declared.
He praised the global lender, World Bank for assisting in funding the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MINDIVER) project in generating the needed data that will stimulate interest in the sector.
“It has a particular focus on data relevant to the mineral sector, with the aim of improving access by investors to data and information,” he noted, stressing that data will be uploaded on regular basis onto the Centre linked to the NGSA’s main arms, the National Steel Raw Material Agency and others.
“The three of them (National Geodata Centre, Kaduna NGSA office and the National steel Raw Material Agency) are linked by dedicated platforms which have come to stay and the data will be accessible to would-be investors, both local and international,” he said.
He commended NGSA for the various milestones achieved under him as Minister, listing National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP) as one of such, with “very good results”.
The Permanent Secretary in charge of Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, represented by the head, Human Resources, Mr. M. K. Suleiman maintained that the federal government is concerned about geodata project, adding that the centre was designed as a one-stop shop for geoscience data and information.
“The Nigerian Geo-Data Centre was conceived as a national reliable repository of digital geoscience information on Nigeria. It was designed to be robust, comprehensive, easy to find and readily accessible.
“Due to its importance as a one stop shop for geoscientific data and information, the British Geological Survey (BGS) UK was contracted to establish this high level infrastructure that provides security, resilience, access to mining investors, researchers, development experts and the general public,” she said.
NGSA’s Director General, Abdulrazaq Garba commended the Minister for providing the right leadership and enabling environment that has aided the success of the Agency.
