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| Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Solid Mineral Development |
The U.S.
Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James
Enstwistle, who disclosed details of the engagement between the two
countries’ geological survey agencies during a meeting with the Minister of
Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode
Fayemi, in Abuja, said the two geological survey agencies would work on
data collection with a view to determining the quantity of Nigeria’s mineral
deposit.
According to
him: “The U.S. Geological Survey will partner with the
Nigerian agency to begin to see what kind of technical co-operation that might
be possible, particularly in the areas which involve figuring out exactly what
Nigeria has on ground, what quality and we want to see what is possible in that
regard.”
Meanwhile,
Fayemi at the meeting, which was also attended by the Minister of State in the
ministry, Abubakar Bwari, had earlier hinted on the planned technical
co-operation in geological data to improve the Nigerian solid minerals sector.
The minister
said some of the issues confronting the Nigerian mining sector include the
quality of the data available to determine the size of what the country has and
how the country can use bankable data for potential investors.
The Federal
Government, according to him, had approached the U.S. government to assist
Nigeria in this area in order to determine the quality and quantity of the
various minerals available considering the wealth of experience of the U.S.
geological survey in that field.
He said the
experience of the American institution in beneficiation would help Nigeria to
improve on what it has in terms of its huge minerals deposit, adding that
Nigeria is focusing on how to improve on industrial minerals beyond exporting
raw materials. (Source: Guardian)
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