Nigeria and France have taken further steps to actualise the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed last month in Paris, France, to boost mining development in Nigeria.
A press statement from the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development indicated that the steps were taken on the sidelines of the strategic minerals meeting at the ongoing Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Speaking at the meeting, Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development and Benjamin Gallezot, France, Inter-Ministerial Delegate for Strategic Minerals, said the MOU was aimed at promoting sustainable mining practices, reducing environmental impact, and decarbonising energy projects.
Gallezot announced that his Department was screening a list of French companies that had applied to invest in the Nigerian Mining Sector and would forward the final list of verified serious investors to the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, appreciated Gallezot for working with him to produce the MOU despite the severe time constraints during the visit of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu to French President Emmanuel Macron, adding that attempts by political opponents to misinform the public about the genuine objectives of the MOU had been sufficiently neutralised.
The MOU includes provisions for research collaborations, knowledge exchange, and capacity building through Franco-Nigerian student training programs. It also outlines plans for environmental rehabilitation, including interventions in over 2,000 abandoned mining sites in Nigeria.
Alake said the Future Minerals Forum allowed both countries to advance their understanding by designing programmes, policies, and projects that removed doubts about collaboration and generated positive outcomes.
Read also: Nigeria, France sign MOU to remediate 2000 mining pits
The talks featured issues such as sustainable mining, artisanal mining, geological exploration, cadastral management, training, and funding.
In his presentation, Olusegun Ige, Director-General (DG) of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), highlighted the Agency’s desire to acquire modern advanced technological equipment to enhance the exploration of geological data.
He said the lack of advanced technological equipment had delayed the exploration of large sheets of mineralised spaces.
Ige said the laboratory must also be upgraded to analyse extracted rocks, using the latest gadgets to generate accurate information.
In his contribution, Simon Nkom Director-General of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, called for comparison of the mining laws of France and Nigeria to detect areas of common practices and improvement, adding that this could be useful to the ongoing review of mining laws.
Simon canvassed the French delegation to encourage French investors to explore opportunities in Nigerian mining by leveraging the MOU.
But, Fatima Shinkafi, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Fund, proposed the co-funding of early-stage exploration projects by the Agency and French financial institutions. She noted that the SMDF had acquired a lot of historical data and best practices from its current collaboration with the Africa Finance Corporation to fund mining entrepreneurs seeking funding for exploration.
Responding to the issues raised by NGSA, Christophe Poinssot, Deputy-Director, Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres (BRGM), the French Geological Agency, promised to include Nigeria among the Countries benefitting from funds managed by France to build the capacity of geologists in Africa.
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