In collaboration with the Australian high commission, the Nigerian government organised a two-day capacity building workshop which was aimed at revitalising the Nigerian mining industry.
The workshop is amongst one of the initiatives by the two Commonwealth member countries to implement a memorandum of understanding, which was signed in 2002, covering political, economic, commercial, scientific and cultural cooperation.
Themed “Policy and Capacity Building Workshop for a Successful and Sustainable Mining Sector”, the workshop, which was held in Abuja, aimed at providing information on leading practice from Australia, on building a sustainable mining sector for Nigeria.
In a curtain raising speech he delivered during the workshop through his permanent secretary, Mohammed Abbas, Nigeria’s minister of mines and steel development, Kayode Fayemi, urged participants “to take advantage of the workshop, and to share ideas and exchange experiences to develop their areas of expertise in enhancing the mineral exploration and mining sector in the country”.
In his address, the Australian high commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Lehmann, said: “The workshop is an avenue for sharing experiences, ideas and knowledge in the industry between the two countries and a tangible and practical demonstration of what Nigeria and Australia can do together.”
After realising fickleness of sole dependency on oil revenue, Nigeria is exploring avenues to diversify its economy, and mining activity has been identified as one of the avenues through which this objective can be achieved.
Sourced from a report published by Business Day and adapted for African Mining Brief
