FG Collaborate With World Bank in Financing the Mining Sector

The Federal Government is looking into partnering with the World Bank through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development in order to provide funding and technical assistance for the mining industry’s growth.

This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, and signed by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori.

Shubham Chaudhuri, the Country Director for Nigeria at the World Bank, expressed his delight with the present administration’s increased focus on developing the nation’s mineral resources during a courtesy visit to Solid Minerals Minister, Dele Alake, on Monday, 11 December 2023.

According to Chaudhuri, Nigeria is in a good position to have the majority of its resources economically viable, meaning that the mineral sector might contribute significantly to the country’s GDP.

He reaffirmed the bank’s willingness to work with the ministry to finance particular areas of intervention and guarantee the successful completion of projects.

He went on to say that the bank is not limited to just lending money, adding that it can also provide technical support to enhance mining activities around the nation.

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The minister responded by applauding the World Bank team for their visit and praising the organisation for leading development initiatives across several economic sectors over the years.

“The World Bank has been able to redirect s on developmental issues and projects in countries, especially Nigeria. Just recently, we had the support of the World Bank on palliatives being rolled out after fuel subsidy removal. We had appreciable support from the World Bank.”

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“I thank you for your involvement in the min diver project, which, unfortunately, is coming to a close. We look forward to strengthening collaboration, which will culminate in the needed funding for critical areas in the mining sector, alongside the requisite technical support, as earlier hinted,” Alake said.

In elucidating the industry’s strategy for the mining sector, the minister disclosed that the primary focus is on funding exploration in order to produce the necessary geodata, which will assist investors in making well-informed investment decisions.

Additionally, he disclosed that continued efforts are being made to safeguard the mining environment and build effective governance mechanisms.

Alake also gave everyone the assurance that the Federal Government is dedicated to creating an environment that protects mining activities while guaranteeing that host communities receive the most benefit and that the government will continue to receive revenue from taxes and royalties.