Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake has secured a study facility to develop a roadmap on Nigeria’s critical value chain from extraction to beneficiation to be funded by the Global Council.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister, Segun Tomori, in Abuja
The statement explains that the Global Council for Critical Minerals is a specialised organ of the Sustainable Energy for All, a United Nations Agency setup to implement the Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The statement says the study will be carried out by UC Davis and supported by Core International, will examine the country’s critical minerals’ resource and reserve and set international best practices for value development to ensure that it contributes to value addition to grow the economy.
It emphasizes that one of the expected benefits is the development of an industrial sector for the local production of solar power and foreign exchange savings from the reduction of imports of solar power products.
The statement commends the UN agency for the gesture, saying it will enrich the development of Nigeria’s policy on solar power.
“Since we have the materials for the production of solar power, we should vigorously pursue the policy of stopping the importation of solar power products and localise the production in Nigeria. We have a large market.
“Already, a lot of the products in Nigeria service the West African sub-region. So whatever material we are producing or manufacturing has a ready West African market.” Alake stresses
According to the statement, Alake reviews steps taken by the administration of President Bola Tinubu in the mining sector since assumption of office assuring the UN agency that the investment climate is positive and friendly.
“We are putting in place a new security architecture that will ensure, not just the safety of the investor but also the protection of the mining environment. We also had to re-draw the Community Development Agreement to ensure that the local populace benefit maximally from these developments, so that at the end of the day, it is a win-win for the investor, the populace and the State” he adds.
The statement notes that if investors have unfettered environment to operate, their profit margin will increase, and they will pay their royalties and discharge their obligations to the government.
The statement says earlier, the Principal Specialist, Renewable Energy, sustainable energy for All, Mr. Divyam Nagpal notes that the critical minerals’ roadmap of Nigeria will support the country’s policy formulation process and aid the development of the critical minerals sub-sector.
