The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, NGSA, announced on Monday that the Nigerian solid mineral sector now has quality and reliable geosciences data, which is attracting an influx of investors.
NGSA Director General, Dr Abdulrazaq Garba, disclosed this during a press conference at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
Garba stated that there would be no meaningful progress in the mining sector without reliable geosciences data, because geosciences data serve as the eyes and ears for investors looking to invest in and mine available mineral resources in a specific area or location.
It was also stated that with the right type of data, expected investors would be enticed to do business in the sector.
According to him, as a strategic agency in Nigeria’s mining sector, the NGSA has made efforts to improve in areas ranging from surface map generation to other areas.
The NGSA was founded in 1919 and has played a strategic role in the development of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, serving as the sole generator and validator of geo data and geological information required by policymakers, institutions, investors, and the general public.
He said: “Before, what we do is surface maps but we have improved, we also achieved this using the appropriate tools to produce geodata.
“We have published the first set of data on geochronology recently, which has to do with ages of minerals.”
Garba explained that the NGSA’s human resource development capacity serves as a bridge between academia and industry, where potential professionals see the mining sector and data use the agency as a window to the mining sector.
Meanwhile, while highlighting the agency’s success, he stated that the NGSA is a catalyst of revenue generation for the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, which essentially is to generate geosciences data for its sister agencies in the Ministry, which include the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office, NMCO, and the Mines Inspectorate, which takes the data generated to investors who pass due process to obtain mineral titles and licenses, generating revenue for the government.
He described the NIMEP project as a means to an end, adding that there was no end to data generation because Nigeria was still at the upstream stage, where data generation is critical.
It should be noted that NIMEP is a flagship project that was launched to provide investors with the reliable geosciences information they require to make the best mining investment decisions in Nigeria.
He also stated that the NIMEP program enabled the agency to create 333 map albums representing the 36 states with mineral resource deposits, “What we had when I came on board was the Interactive maps, currently we have produced Lithostructural maps that has Tetonic information about Nigeria.”
The NGSA boss revealed in his presentation at the recently concluded maiden Nigeria-Africa Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit, NAFNIS, that the government had identified seven strategic minerals based on the information available on them, which include coal, iron ore, bitumen, gold, limestone, lead/zinc, and barite.
He said, “Basically, you will agree with me that the business of mining is not meant for government to do investigation on minerals, but in this our particular clime we need to take this information up to a particular level whereby the minerals will be attractive to investors”
