•Seeks collaboration with private sector, mining industry stakeholders

In his remarks to close the eighth edition of the Nigerian mining week, the Minister of SolidMinerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake reaffirmed the resolve of the Tinubu administration to make solid minerals the most valuable resource that will surpass crude oil’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Alake in restating the commitment of the ministry to revolutionising the mining sector for productivity, delivered President Bola Tinubu’s message of unalloyed support for resolutions of mining industry stakeholders as espoused in the three-day mining week which he stated is in tandem with the President’s vision of diversifying the Nigerian economy from age-long dependency on oil to solid minerals.

“Nigeria has a surfeit of most sought after critical minerals. The desired minerals in the world today, we have in abundance. What is needed is the methodology, the strategy, and tactics to ensure the efficient and proficient exploration, exploitation, and expenditure of the accruable resources, therefrom, and government cannot do it alone.”

“Yes, we are doing our own part by creating an enabling environment, making sure that the operating environment is conducive to you, the players in the industry. But you are the players. Without your active collaboration and support, through ideas, suggestions, comments, views, and, in fact, insightful penetrating questions, we will not be able to translate that vision into reality,” the Minister further said.

Whilst thanking the organisers and partners of the 2023 mining week, Dr. Alake revealed the event has witnessed robust engagements, cross-fertilisation of ideas that will result in new methods of implementing and executing policies that will be conceptualised by government, emphasising that partnerships forged will herald a symbiotic relationship between the Federal Government and industry stakeholders.

“On our part, I can assure you that the President has pledged to increase funding into the mining sector through the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals. With such funding, we can then embark on those very significant steps that we need to take, going forward. Such as generating the big data – about the how and where of mineral resources, without which we cannot begin to talk about any serious implementation of policies or attracting the much needed foreign investments,” Alake affirmed.

Stressing the commitment of government to guarantee security which he described as the “most critical factor of operation”, the Minister stated that plans are underway to rejig the security architecture which will take the form of inter-agency structure with an infusion of technology to ensure that those that are genuinely licensed have a peaceful environment to operate, reduce frictions between operators in the field and their host communities towards achieving the administration's objectives of maximally exploiting the country’s God-given resource for economic development.

Speaking further, Alake announced plans to establish administrative structures and mechanisms that will make the sector attain its pride of place in Nigeria's socio-economic structure.

“We want to ensure that within the next couple of months, in the short term, and few years in the longer term, the mining sector contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria and it becomes the next critical resource of Nigeria’s economic survival. We want to ensure that the solid minerals sector takes over from oil as Nigeria’s major revenue earner,” the Minister added.