BOI, NEXIM to Provide Funding for Mining Sector Devt

It has come to light that one of the greatest impediments to the growth of the mining sector in Nigeria, funding, is finally about to be properly taken care of as two banks – Bank of Industry (BoI) and Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) – have already indicated interest in financing it.

Other banks, participants at the iPAD Nigeria Mining Forum held in Abuja were told, will likely follow suit.

Ms. Olayinka Mubarak of the Bank of Industry confirmed that their main activity in the mining sector is to provide financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium and small scale projects.

The Minister of State for Solid Mineral Resources, Hon. Abubakar Bwari, said the fact that there are now two ministers in charge of the ministry for the first time was a pointer to the fact that the present administration was very committed to developing the sector, especially with the dwindling oil revenue.

“We are mentally and physically ready to move the sector forward,” he declared.

“We will partner with investors to move it forward. We lost track before and we have to come back to track.”

Bemoaning the abysmal status of Nigeria in mining, the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jon Richardson, advised the authorities to urgently address the deterrents to foreign investment in the sector if it is to grow as expected.

Some of these disincentives include general insecurity, trade barriers, labour militancy, the legal system, the political situation and infrastructural challenges.

Richardson called for predictability and security of titles, among others,

CEO of Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, NGSA, Alex Ndubuisi Nwegbu, noted that mining is so ubiquitous that there is hardly any product that does not make use of a mined mineral, from pencil to computers to motor vehicles and air planes.

As a result, he said, the sector contributes about 40 percent of the world’s GDP.

To get the exact locations of the respective mineral deposits in the country, Nwegbu said, miners need to access the necessary data from the NGSA, but regretted that Nigerian miners do not patronise the agency for the relevant information.