The board of the World Bank on April 17, 2017 approved a project of $150 million to the nation’s mining sector in order to enhance productivity of the sector and contribution to the Nigerian economy.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud, stated that “…in line with the Nigerian government’s priority to diversify the economy to a broader range of non-oil productive sectors, one of the key objectives of this project is to support the government in the realization of the full mineral endowment for sector policy, promotion, conducive business environment and integrated long-range resources and investment planning.”
“Nigeria has a favorable geological potential that, if adequately assessed, well exploited and sustainably managed, could support broader economic growth through mineral sector,” he said.
Nigeria has been considered a nation with massive deposit of natural resources ranging from precious metals to minerals. Despite these potentials, Nigeria has been unable to attract significant investment in exploration and mining into the sector, and current productivity from the Nigerian mining sector is still insufficient to meet local demands, particularly for industrial minerals.
Also, insufficient geo-data and geological knowledge, weak implementation and enforcement of the mining law and regulations, and a large, poorly regulated and informal artisanal and small-scale mining sub-sector are among the critical binding constraints for sector development. It is to this end this project is initiated by the institution.
In the same vein, Nigeria’s Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has produced handbooks to guide miners on best environmental practices in the conduct of their activities.
In a statement by Director, Mines Environment Compliance Department, Mr. Salim Salaam, during a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, April 15, 2017, noted that the handbooks focused on environmental-friendly and sustainable practices in line with global standards.
According to him, the mining environmental regulatory compliance handbook highlighted laws and regulations on the sector to address potential environmental and social issues in the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources.
The World Bank project is expected to help develop measures for formalizing, regulating and inventorying artisanal and small-scale mining, facilitate the flow of mineral transactions, facilitate access to finance, technology and equipment, increase knowledge and support the mining and processing of the minerals in accordance with best practices, including with regards to environmental and social protections. One which the new handbooks by the Ministry would assist in achieving.
@pulse
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