PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a professional service firm, has called on local and international investors to shift attention to Nigeria’s mining sector in view of the declining revenue from oil.
It said the Nigerian mining sector has huge potentials which have not been fully utilized saying that it can become the next destination for discerning investors especially with the recent pronouncements by the present administration to provide enabling environment for investors in the sector.
Partner and mining sector leader, PwC, Cyril Azobu made this call while hosting a cocktail event for delegates to the recently concluded ‘Investing in African Mining Indaba’, often referred to as “the Mining Indaba,” held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Azobu identified key areas and quick wins the government could immediately explore to initiate appreciable growth in the sector and also increase investment.
In his words: “Urgently, there is a need to provide adequate security, set-up of relevant agencies, put necessary infrastructures in place and initiate robust industry policies that helps to integrate the artisanal miner into the mainstream”.
“For mining to be successful in Nigeria, it is expedient that the latest technology in geo-data science that will provide reliable information on solid mineral deposits in the country is deployed. It will also assign value to mining licenses which can then be used as collateral for loans to fund activities in the sector,” Azobu said.
The Mining Indaba is an annual professional conference dedicated to the capitalisation and development of mining interests in Africa. It is currently the world’s largest mining investment conference and Africa’s largest mining event. For two decades, the annual Mining Indaba has served as the pathway for foreign investments into Africa’s mining value chain – opportunities ranging from small diamond deposits to mega coal projects.
