Ever since the oil boom era when other economically key sectors, especially agriculture and mining, were abandoned, Nigeria’s solid mineral sector which used to contribute substantially to the country’s GDP has been conspicuously inactive owing to neglect by successive governments.
One area of focus of the present administration’s diversification agenda is mining, and the ministry, in its bid to transform the sector, developed a roadmap of which one of the strategies is to collaborate with mining development partners, including countries known for mining. In the light of that, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Abu-Bakr Bawa Bwari led Nigerian delegation to the 20th China Mining Congress & Expo and the 3rd Nigeria – China Mining Road Show scheduled for the 18 – 20th October, 2018 at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition, Tianjin, China.
The event is one of the major international mining calendar introduced to raise Chinese interest in African mining and energy. The conference attracts major mining players from around the world, as well as investors eager to invest in Africa.
China’s mining consists of three parts – conferences, exhibitions and featured events. The conferences attract world’s policy makers and the industry’s leading voice in presenting the hottest topics and providing insightful information.
The exhibitions attract pavilions from major world mining countries and mining companies to promote domestic and overseas cooperation in mining.
The 3rd Nigeria-China Mining Roadshow, during which papers were presented by the minister, directors and heads of agencies, was held to showcase mining investment opportunities in Nigeria.
The objectives of Nigeria’s participation at the congress and the organization of the 3rd Roadshow includes amongst others to showcase to the international mining community Nigeria’s economic policy priorities which focused on the diversification of Nigeria’s revenue base by repositioning the mining sector for greater productivity, showcase to potential investors the investment opportunities in the Nigerian mining sector, the existing incentives and enabling legislations and engage in high level economic diplomacy, to address the misconceptions about Nigeria’s mining industry and business environment in general, that account for Nigeria’s low ranking on the global mining policy perception and ease-of-doing-business.
The first good news for Nigeria came during a stopover visit of the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development and his entourage at Jin Bao Rong Group of Companies on their way to attend the 20th China Mining Conference and Expo holding in Tianjin.
The chief executive officer of the Chinese company based in Beijing, Ms. Zhang Fenglan, expressed her company’s intention to commence mining exploration in Nigeria.
She stated that her company has bought over the West African Polaris Investment Ltd (WAPI), which owns some mineral titles in Nigeria and has the intention of commencing mining operations in the country.
She used the forum to express her company’s concern and challenges so far encountered since they ventured into the project and solicited the support and cooperation of the ministry of mines and steel development to fasten the processes of renewing some of the expired mineral titles, for the company to commence full scale operations in Nigeria.
The minister assured of federal government’s encouragement and support for genuine foreign investors in the Nigerian mining sector while the director-general, Mining Cadastre Office, the agency responsible for granting mining licenses in Nigeria, Engineer Mohammed Amate , also gave them a brief on the guidelines for mining in Nigeria and the need for the company to work in accordance with the law of the country.
In another development, the minister and his entourage visited a coal to power electricity plant referred to as a super power plant located in the Yincheng Hangu area, which is about an hour drive to the city centre of Tianjin, China. The plant has been generating about 4000 megawatts of electricity since completion and it is seen as the most advanced and environmentally friendly coal to power project so far in China.
The minister stated that the federal government would look at the possibility of replicating similar coal to power project in Nigeria to further improve power generation in the country.
On the first day of the China Mining Congress, the minister, while presenting his speech, called for seamless collaboration between countries for sustainable growth of the mining sector and the economy at large, adding that such partnership was also necessary for political stability and national security.
He said the theme of this year’s Congress: “New Pattern of Opening and New Mode of Cooperation,” clearly summarizes the need for new strategies to maximize the exploitation of the world’s abundant mineral resources for national development.
“It is common knowledge that geology and mining is an evolving field, so there are diverse skills and expertise in different nations and without international cooperation, we cannot access the expertise across the world. “I believe strengthening partnerships and cooperation amongst the countries will promote sharing innovative business models to support development of infrastructure projects linked to mining, reduction of barriers to adoption of transformative technologies, promotion of capacity building especially between developed and developing countries, and promoting financial support for viable mining projects especially in Africa,” he said.
Bwari highlighted some of the recent achievements by the federal government in the quest to boost investment in the mining sector to include among others the strengthening of mining policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks and regimes; increased funding for the sector for the generation and provision of necessary geosciences data to attract investors, acquisition of electro -magnetic survey data, upgrading and automation of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office for online applications, construction of modern archiving system that would facilitate the dissemination of high quality geo-data information; and the upgrade of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) Laboratory to ISO standard.
He said the Nigeria’s mining sector was now more than ever before an investors’ haven with high grade deposits and conducive and competitive investment climate.
The minister while taking a walk round the entire exhibition arena spent some time at the Nigerian exhibition stand and at the booth of a Nigerian – based Chinese investor, KINGROCK Investment.
The display of high grade portable drilling machines that can be operated with diesel or can work without electricity by some companies also got his attention.
He also visited the stand which exhibited drones that could be used for geological surveys.
The minister stated that part of the expanded Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and China was for the Chinese to provide the country with drones that could be used for geological surveys because they are faster and efficient. (By ABRH ADAH)
About CHINA MINING
Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.
CHINA MINING Conference and Exhibition 2018 Was held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin in October 18-20, 2018. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2018, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.
