Abdullahi OlesinThe federal government is repositioning the solid minerals sector as part of efforts to diversify the nation’s economy and create job opportunities through the sector.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi disclosed this in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday in his keynote address at the 52nd conference of the Nigerian Mining and Geo-sciences Society (NMGS).
He said the major focus of the ministry is to ensure that the solid minerals sector improve its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) from 0.3% to at least 10% in the near future.
He said a lot of innovations are being put in place to overcome all the encumbrances that could hinder the attainment of the goal.
Fayemi said the target growth is achievable, adding that the minerals industry has great opportunities for diversification and linkages to the development of other sectors of the nation’s economy.
“We strongly believe that the only way minerals development can be sustainable is through economic linkages. We shall promote the development of industrial minerals and encourage downstream linkages leading to the processing of these minerals for our local industries.
“It is expected that huge foreign exchange will be conserved through import substitution; jobs will be created, technological capacity will improve and there shall be increase in resource rents. We shall concentrate on developing minerals that are critical feedstock in oil and gas, agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure”, the minister said.
Fayemi, who said that the mining sector has witnessed extensive reforms since 1999, which essentially crystallized around the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, noted that the country is again on the path to providing a transparent and workable regulatory and policy environment for a private sector- led mining.
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