By Correspondent in Ilorin
Federal government has embarked on multi-million naira mining exploration drive in seven local government areas of Kwara state to attract local and foreign investors into the sector.
Speaking with journalists on the planned airborne geophysical survey in the seven local government areas of Kwara state in Ilorin on Wednesday, the Director-general of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Dr. Abdulrazaq Garba, said that the effort was aimed at diversifying revenue base of the economy.
He added the the move was to generate more employment opportunities, and increase internally generated revenue drive of the state and federal government.
The DG, who said that the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development would on June 21, commence airborne geophysical survey to generate mining information and data about potential mineral resources
The resources,he noted, were located in the Asa, Ilorin West, Moro, Oyun, Irepodun, Offa, and Oke Ero local government areas of the state, adding that the aircrafts deployed for the missions would fly at low altitudes and urged residents not to panic over the low-flying and low noise of the aircrafts and the seemingly zigzag pattern of movement of the aircraft.
Dr. Garba also said that the programme, planned to take place across 19 states of the country over the next few months, was organised through the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification Project (MINDIVER), a World Bank-assisted project.
He also said that the information to be generated in the survey would be beneficial,” because mining sector depends on geo-science information.”
“The Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development is one of the key ministries which the present administration intends to use to diversify the nation’s economy. The ministry is supposed to generate geoscience information to promote the mining industry and hasten investment.
“In recent time, the ministry carried out some geochemical activities in the state.
“The ministry has invested in the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project through which some surveys have been carried out in somewhere at Lafiagi Gbugbu axis of the state; so, a team of experts will be coming to the state to determine sub-surface extension of the potentials of mineral resources in the state.
“The benefit to the state is mutual in the sense that, mining is capital intensive. Mining depends on geoscience data and one of the key components of the ministry of mines and steel development of the mining sector.
” All the mining nation we have across the world depends on data, for example South Africa depends on data, Burkina Faso is currently doing exploration activities of about $40milion every year.
“South Africa did some drillings across the country, despite the fact that there are so many mining companies in South Africa of about $30million to $40million.
“What the government of president Buhari is trying to do is to provide baseline information that will develop the sector,”he said.
