By Adebisi Adeyemi Lagos
….Presentation of country’s new airborne electromagnetic survey tops agenda
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is leading the Nigerian delegation to the Investing in African Mining Indaba, which kicks off in Cape Town, South Africa, tomorrow, Monday February 5th, 2018.
The Nigerian delegation comprises critical stakeholders, including officials of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), officials of some state governments in charge of minerals and mining; financial experts, investors and operators.
The Investing in Mining Indaba, is regarded as the biggest African mining event with significant interests from governments, organisations, financial institutions and investors within and outside the continent.
One major highlight of the Nigerian government’s participation in this year’s event is the presentation to the global audience of the New Nigeria Airborne Electromagnetic Surveys Results.
The presentation which will be done by the Minister, would be followed by a technical session featuring global and Nigerian mining experts who would discuss the new electromagnetic survey results.
The presentation and the technical session are scheduled for Wednesday, at an event designated as Nigerian Day at Mining Indaba 2018, at the Cape Town International Conference Centre, Cape Town.
Dr Fayemi, last December disclosed that the Ministry had secured the delivery of 26,000 line kilometre of electromagnetic data, following the payment of outstanding fees to the consultant that handled the project. He also said that the ministry would undertake extensive electromagnetic Airborne Geological Survey of promising parts of the country this year, as well as the completion of the National Mineral Database.
According to a statement by the Ministry, Nigeria’s participation at the 2018 Mining Indaba is expected to serve several strategic objectives, including: “Signal to the international mining community, Nigeria’s economic policy priorities which focus on the diversification of the country’s revenue base by repositioning the mining sector for greater productivity.
“Take advantage of the attendance of key decision makers and influencers in the industry from all over the world to engage in high-level Economic Diplomacy, to address the misconceptions about Nigeria’s mining industry, especially in the light of recent recorded improvements in both hard risk and perceived risk factors in the Nigerian Mining Jurisdiction as well as improved geological data.
“Network with other government delegates (especially of African countries) and representatives of multilateral organizations, to explore potential areas of cooperation and to ensure Nigeria takes a lead and visible role in advancing the objectives of the African Mining Vision (AVM).
“Ensure robust tracking of the competitive activities of other mining countries towards identifying ways through which Nigeria can improve the marketability and competitiveness of her mining industry.”
