Mining Week: FG Plans to Make Solid Minerals the most Valuable Resources – Alake

Mining Week: FG Plans to Make Solid Minerals the most Valuable Resources – Alake

Reaffirming the resolve of the Tinubu administration, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, stated during the closing of the eighth edition of the Nigerian mining week that solid minerals would become the most valuable resource, surpassing crude oil’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In restating the commitment of the ministry to revolutionizing the mining sector for productivity, Alake delivered President Bola Tinubu’s message of unalloyed support for resolutions of mining industry stakeholders as espoused in the 3-day mining week. This 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, therefore, and the 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 asserted.

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 conceptualized by government, emphasizing 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 can not begin to talk about any serious implementation of policies or attracting the much needed foreign investments.” Alake affirmed.

The Minister stressed the commitment of the government to guarantee security, which he described as the “most critical factor of operation”. He stated that plans are underway to rejig the security architecture, which will take the form of an inter-agency structure with an infusion of technology. This is to ensure that those who are genuinely licensed have a peaceful environment to operate in, reduce frictions between operators and their host communities, and achieve 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 said.