FG, AFC Partner To Gather Data, Process Minerals

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In furtherance of it’s commitment to reposition and sanitize the solid minerals sector of the economy, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development will partner with the Africa Finance Corporation in data gathering to de-risk investment in the mining sector.

Minister for Solid Minerals, Dr Oladele Alake made this known during the visit by the President/CEO Africa Finance Corporation, Mr Samaila Zubairu.

Riding on the existing robust partnership between the AFC ad Solid Minerals Development Fund ( SMDF-an agency of the Ministry), Dr Alake emphatically said: ” the Ministry will consolidate on this partnership to develop the necessary data needed to advance the $700bn value under the ground under the big data strategy”.

Elaborating further, the Minister explained that every efforts being made to through policies and programmes to make Nigeria a destination for Solid Minerals Development will be futile if the nation didn’t improve on data gathering. ” We will invest heavily in data generation, concise and precise data generation that will enable investors make informed decisions ”, Dr. Alake enthused.

The Minister, seized the opportunity of the visit to hint at initiatives by the SMDF and the AFC to catalyze the development of the mineral sector under their partnership. He said ” these initiatives directly support Mr President’s renewed hope agenda, particularly in foreign direct investment, job creation and increased fiscal revenues. The agreement is a critical win under the recently announced Transformation Agenda as it directly supports establishing processing centres to focus on value- added products ”.

While acknowledging the growing partnership between the Africa Finance Corporation and Solid Minerals Development Fund aimed at identifying and supporting development -stage mining projects in Nigeria; Dr Alake said the visit of the CEO of AFC sign posts how critical the mining sector is to Nigeria’s economic growth and prosperity.

Speaking earlier,the President and Chef Executive Officer, Africa Finance Corporation, Mr Samaila Zubairu stated that the quantum and value of Nigeria’s solid minerals has made it imperative to develop a framework of partnering with the Ministry to grow the sector for rapid economic development of the country.

Furthermore, the AFC President pledged the corporation’s support for the BIG Data project, value added processing centers, curbing insecurity and support for local mining companies.

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