The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, has said the Federal Government was committed to engaging with states to ensure effective harnessing of the potential in the sector.
Naijaonpoint reports that Alake stated this on Friday when he visited Governor Abdullahi Sule, along with Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru.
Alake said Nasarawa has been a formidable partner in harnessing the state’s vast mineral potential for national development and emphasized the state’s significance in advancing our nation’s mining sector.
“Nasarawa State is the epicentre of mining in Nigeria, so we need to collaborate with them to scale up mining activities in the state.
“It is also noteworthy that the reforms and efforts to promote the mining sector over the last 17 months have begun to bear fruit, with global players increasingly expressing interest in Nigeria’s mining industry,” he said.
On his part, Governor Sule commended the efforts of the Minister to transform the mining sector. He stated that Nigeria has become a center of attraction for foreign investors in the sector.
“Well Nigeria has become a major attraction now when it comes to the area of mining. All areas of mining, attention is on Nigeria, whether it is lithium, titanium, tantalite, cobalt, and the rest of that.
“The minister has been doing a very good job, driving Mr. President’s agenda in the area of mining. One of the challenges that we continue to have in the area of mining is also security. You know, there is no way you can be having mining activity and everything goes smooth without some sense of security challenges,” he said.
Governor Sule explained that the meeting provided an opportunity for collaboration with the Minister as he manages all mining activities.
The Nasarawa Governor commended President Bola Tinubu for including communities in the mining activities.
“So the essence of this is for us to put this together, and to see what we can contribute to the minister as he manages all these various sites of mining activity, so that is the whole essence of the meeting.
“The activities of lithium mining companies in the Nasarawa state are ongoing. As we discover more sites, we will continue to see more factories that are doing one thing or the other. The other factory that is already commissioned by Mr. President is ongoing and is doing a very good job. And we have other factories that are coming up.
“The question of individual states applying for licenses is actually mainly for just the communities. You know, once the communities believe that they have a share in it, I think what this administration of Bola Tinubu is trying to do is to avoid the mistake that we have done in the oil and gas sector.
“You know, in the oil and gas sector, all licenses were given only to the IOCs. And it was much later when we started having problems. Companies like Niger Delta Development Company started obtaining licenses and that’s when things have come happened.
“But Mr. President has captured it much earlier through the minister. So now we have states that are applying and we have indigenous companies also that are applying. And they are going into relationships with the various major mining companies so that they can carry out the activity together,” he added.