The quest to unlock the potentials of the Nigerian mining sector has received a boost with the launch of an early stage mining development facility (portal) and the signing of an exploration enhancing tripartite agreement with XCalibur by the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) and its development partner, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), on the sidelines of the just concluded 8th Nigerian Mining Week in Abuja.
Speaking, the Executive Secretary (ES) of SMDF, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, noted that the initiatives were conceived to address the fundamental challenge associated with raising the huge capital required to mining projects successfully, especially at its initial stage.
“We all know that the difficulties associated with mining projects in Nigeria, fundamentally have to do with raising capital. And mining occurs in phases and you can’t proceed to the final stage where the most capital is required without completing your developmental studies. So today is all about that to enable you complete developmental studies to really take you to the finish line. Most projects are abandoned at that stage.
“The initiatives we announced today support critical critical strategic pillars of the Honorable Minister’s transformation agenda, including joint ventures with mining multinationals and the ‘Big Data’ on priority minerals,” Shinkafi said.
She assured that, given the enthusiasm with which the government is approaching mining, what is happening is just the begining of the much to come as time unfolds.
“I’ve seen it in the Honourable Minister’s strides, and I know that he has access to make that change happen with the president who has a enumerated plans for changing the economy by diversifying to mining and agriculture as well.
“So as as AFC and SMD F will bridge that lack of expertise and funding for the for these Nigerian mining projects through the early stage mining project development facility launched today. And very important too is the human capacity element of it,’ she said.
According to her, the good thing is that initiatives have both social and financial investment angles.
There’s a developmental aspect to this as well. Over 90% of Nigeria remains under explored with significant potential to discover new and increase the existing deposits that we found.
“So increased exploration activity is crucial to realising the benefits of the country’s geological and development and supporting a pipeline of new projects to the market.
“This under-investment in exploration is why AFC and the SMDF have partnered with XCalibur multiphysics towards the Honorable Minister’s exploration ‘Big Data’ strategy by developing a data discovery portal and a pre-competitive exploration programme,” the SMDF boss explained, lamenting that of the global exploration budget, Nigeria accounts for a paltry 0.02 per cent.
While assuring prospective investors of funds for projects after satisfying the conditions, and of transparency and impartiality in accepting projects, Shinkafi noted that the funds to be given out must be paid back within the given period to enable the funding of other projects in future.
“The projects we have identified today will unlock more than 500,000 ounces of gold reserves while attracting more than $500 million in new mining investment. So our intervention to unlock developmental finance for Nigerian mining projects aligns with the Renewed Hope vision of $1 trillion GDP and 7% economic growth,” she said.
She also hinted of an ongoing process of establishing a state-of-the-art integrated laboratory with photon analysis – the latest technology for non-destructive sampling and testing of samples.
On his part, the President/CEO of AFC, Samaila Zubairu, challenged Nigeria and other African countries to leverage the opportunities provided by the abundance of mineral resources and the partnership between SMDF and AFC as well as other financiers to unlock the rich potentials of the sector for inclusive prosperity.
He said, “The world needs African resources to fully transition to clean energy in the long term, and more investment is required to sustainably mine and develop in-continent processing capacity for commodities that are critical to the energy transition.
“This collaboration signifies our commitment to unlock the vast potential of Nigeria’s mineral resources by leveraging the wealth of our renewable energy sources for local processing, thus fostering sustainable development and economic prosperity in Nigeria and Africa.”
Speaking, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake who attended the event in the company of the Minister of State, Steel Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, among other dignitaries, stressed the importance of financing mining projects, describing AFC as a big pillar in the efforts of government to erect a formidable structure for the development of the sector.
He said “Financing plays very significant role in the unlocking of the country’s vast solid mineral resources,” lamenting that the discovery of oil, the sector was neglected in the past few decades thus engendering a mono-cultural economic structure which is not sustainable.
