• Says sector will contribute 50% to Nigeria’s GDP
The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, has said that his ministry is poised to attract Foreign Direct Investment to the country, saying the solid minerals sector can add at least 50% to the Nigerian economy.
To achieve this, the minister has said the ministry will focus on a seven-point agenda including the creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, Joint Ventures with Mining Multinationals, Big Data on specific seven priority minerals and their deposits, 30-day grace for illegal miners to join artisanal cooperatives, Mines Surveillance Task Force and Mine Police, Comprehensive review of all mining licenses and the creation of six (6) Mineral Processing Centres to focus on Value-Added products.
“The Ministry has to take the bull by the horns if the country must reap the harvest of the trillion dollars worth of minerals under the ground across the country.
To achieve this laudable objective, there has to be a paradigm shift in the strategy by re-positioning the sector in terms of the human and capital factors that can drive its transformation,” the minister said.
On the creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, the minister said “mining is big business. Nigeria must assert its presence in this environment by replicating its strategic positioning in the petroleum sector by setting up a corporate body that plays in this field. Consequently, the Ministry shall work towards the incorporation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.”