The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has warned against placing unrealistic expectations in the mining industry as the industry itself has its own peculiar challenges and considerations which must be taken into mind when creating targets for it.
The minister mentioned this in his foreword in the Roadmap for the Growth and development of the Nigerian Mining Industry: On the Road To Shared Mining Prosperity. Highlighting some of the peculiar circumstances associated with mining, he noted that the risk of exploration is often an expensive and sometimes time-demanding one, which in some cases, could lead to disappointment, loss of capital expenditure and loss of jobs.
Another unique consideration in the mining industry, according to Fayemi, is the challenge of environmental concerns which must be managed properly to ensure sustainability. As such, he said that it is necessary for stakeholders to ‘understand this cycle, and provide sincere support, as well as moderate our expectations in order to build a sector that can produce sound wealth from what is a wasting asset.’ Leadership News writes.
Despite these unique circumstances, Fayemi acknowledged that if all stakeholders, government included, played their parts, the mining industry in Nigeria is ‘capable of contributing to wealth creation, providing jobs and advancing our social and human security’.
On its part, Fayemi said that his Ministry had through the presentation of the roadmap, laid down the first landmark towards transforming the mining industry. The roadmap, he said, would be shared with state governors, the National Economic Council and other key stakeholders.
In addition, Fayemi said that the Ministry has established an implementation team that will coordinate the work of delivering the roadmap’s short, medium and long-term action items.
Parts of this article originally appeared in Leadership News.
