MinDiver announce completion of S’Western block to de-risking sector
The Mineral Sector Support for the Economic Diversification Project (MinDiver) in Nigeria’s Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has announced the completion of the de-risking process in the South-Western region of the country.
This initiative aims to attract investment into the mining industry and has included vocational training in jewelry and gemstone programs for many youths. Engr. Sallim Salaam, the Project Coordinator of MinDiver, mentioned that the project has successfully trained 41 Nigerians from all geopolitical zones in the country in master jewelry-making and design.
Equipment provision and training
The graduating students were provided with starter packs containing basic jewelry-making tools to support their establishment in the jewelry trade. Furthermore, the technical departments and agencies of the Ministry are being strengthened through equipment provision and training.
The highlight of the event was the handover of the first set of geological data to the Ministry of Mines. This data, acquired through a high-resolution airborne survey conducted over the South-Western block of Nigeria, will be released to the public to assist in de-risking the mining sector. The Ministry has already approved a data dissemination policy to guide the release of this information.
Dr. Mary Ogbe, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, urged valuable investors to take advantage of the ministry’s efforts, including the newly acquired high-resolution airborne data, to conduct further exploration of mineral titles. The Airborne MagRad Survey, covering 300,000 square kilometers across nineteen states of the Federation, aims to reduce investment risks in the mining sector. The survey progresses in logical blocks, with the South-Western block being the first to be completed.
With the data acquisition, processing, and interpretation of the South-Western block completed, Dr. Ogbe officially handed over the data to the Director-General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) for uploading onto the National Geodata System.
