Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dr Dele Alake, weekend, wooed Qatari businessmen with lithium data and friendly business policies in the nation’s solid minerals sector. Alake who made this known through his Special Adviser, Hon Kehinde Bamigbetan, in a statement, said it was on the sidelines of the visit by President Bola Tinubu to Qatar last week, while he (Alake) responded to enquires on the quality of Nigerian lithium by Qatari business mogul, Sheikh Shahid Jawad in Doha along with other businessmen including Sheikh El Jouneid, Chief Executive Officer, ETCC Qatar, and Aminu Dahiru, Chairman, Asdub Oil & Gas.
According to the Minister, mineral exploration initiated by the Nigerian Government has identified locations where lithium occurs in commercial quantities in high grades, which he told the businessmen that during his visit to Australia, he was presented with samples of rock composites from Nigeria with high grade lithium content confirmed by laboratory analysis, which showed that the quality of Nigerian lithium has been recognised by the global mining sector as one of the best and with high quality based on international standards. While wooing the Qatari businessmen to visit the country to witness the immense opportunities in mining, he (Alake) said the Nigerian government has put in place generous and investor- friendly policies to facilitate business operations in the sector. Also, the Vice Chairman, Qatar- Nigerian Chamber of Business, Muhammed Santuraki, in briefing the Minister said the Chamber was formed in 2017 to build business relations between both countries. Recalling a recent visit to a gold mine in Nasarawa State, Santuraki observed the existence of good roads for the haulage of minerals to the ports. Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of Solid Minerals Development Fund, SMDF, Mrs Fatimah Shinkafi during the meeting also urged investors to explore opportunities in mining infrastructures.
According to Shinkafi, Vale, a mining company in Brazil that invested in trains to ease the transportation of minerals from the mines to the processing towns, and assured that while the government continues to provide transportation facilities to the mining sites, mining companies that recognise the significance of transportation to their future cost control are also counselled to invest wisely by supplementing government’s efforts.
