Nigeria is safe, mines minister tells investors

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, on Thursday, called on foreign investors to be free to attend Nigeria mining week activities scheduled from 1st to 3rd November 2022, saying Nigeria is safe.

It also noted that Abuja is safe and the country’s security agencies have been deployed to ensure that all lives and property are well secured.

The minister disclosed this in Abuja, at a pre-event press briefing of the mining week, with the theme: “Successes and Achievement in the Nigerian Mining Sector”, said this year’s activities will highlight the giant strides of this administration through the Mineral Sector as one of the cardinal drivers of the diversification Agenda.

He said that the mining week would deliberate on the acquisition of bankable geoscientific data, the efficient and transparent mineral title administration processes, as well as downstream opportunities in the Mining Sector and the Nigerian Mineral value-chain Regulations of 2021.

According to him, “The future minerals are globally recognized as vital for the economic wellbeing of the world’s major and emerging economies, as they are essential for producing new energies and technologies.

“These minerals primarily comprise of copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, platinum group minerals, and to a lesser extent, aluminium, chromium, graphite, manganese, rare earth elements, and zinc. Over the next two decades, the mineral demand from electric vehicles and battery storage is predicted to grow astronomically. Thus, the development of these minerals or the lack thereof will determine the economic strength or weakness of a developing nation like Nigeria.

“The Government, in particular, has been putting all its political will and weight behind the sustainable development of the Mining Sector and I am super excited to announce that as we aim to discuss the common challenges and share our success stories, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will declare the event open”.

In his remarks, the acting President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alh. Musa Muhammad said this year mining week is an open opportunity for Nigeria’s mining sectors.

He said: “The interest shown by investors from across the world since August when the preparations towards hosting this year’s Nigerian Mining Week began in earnest, had been so enormous that they were on their toes, working round the clock to ensure that event is a huge success.

“The mining week it’s something that we’ve never experienced before in Nigeria. So we are going to learn new apps and how to use them. So, it’s wonderful and I gave kudos to the team that put this together”.