Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and France have formalized the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in Paris, with France to facilitate upgrade laboratories, provide advanced technological equipment, and fund geological data exploration for Nigeria’s mining sector.
The agreement was sealed at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, where Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, and France’s Interministerial Delegate for Strategic Minerals, Benjamin Gallezot, outlined plans for collaboration.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the Minister, Kehinde Bamigbetan, Gallezot announced that his department was screening a list of French companies that had applied to invest in the Nigerian mining sector and would forward the final list of verified serious investors to the Ministry.
France will also assist Nigeria in aligning its mining laws, improving cadastral management, and tackling illegal mining, and screen the French companies interested in investing in Nigeria’s mining industry.
Dr. Alake expressed gratitude for France’s swift partnership, particularly under the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron, and dismissed misinformation regarding the MOU’s objectives. He emphasized that sustainable mining, artisanal mining, training, and funding remain at the heart of the collaboration.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Professor Olusegun Ige, highlighted the agency’s need for advanced equipment to enhance geological data exploration. He noted that the lack of modern laboratories has hindered progress and stressed the importance of international training and skill transfer for local geologists.
Deputy Director of France’s geological agency, Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, Christophe Poinssot, pledged to include Nigeria in an existing fund to build geologists’ capacity across Africa.
According to the Director-General of Nigeria’s Mining Cadastral Office Simon Nkom, collaboration on mining laws would identify common practices and improve Nigeria’s ongoing mining law reforms. Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Fund, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, proposed co-funding early-stage exploration projects with French financial institutions to support mining entrepreneurs.
The parties agreed to develop a joint implementation programme and review progress during the upcoming Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa, next month.
RN