The NUC and the Alliance for Earth
Sciences, Engineering and Development in Africa (AESEDA)
have called for the establishment of a functional solid
mineral development bank.
The two agencies made the call at the weekend in Abuja in a
communiqué issued at the end of a workshop on the
"Challenges and Prospects of Developing Nigeria's Solid
Mineral Resources.'' They said the establishment of the bank
was imperative to promote activities in the sector.
The communiqué also stressed the need to establish a solid
mineral technology development fund to support capacity
building efforts in the sector. It noted that to sustainably
develop and manage Nigeria's solid minerals, capacity
building, through education and training, was urgently
needed.
It suggested that the Petroleum Technology Development
Fund's (PTDF) mandate be expanded in the short term to cover
capacity building in the solid mineral sector. The
communiqué noted that funding of training programmes was
very poor, and said there was a compelling need to provide
funding for research in the sector.
It called for joint ventures among mining companies,
academia, financial institutions and the Federal Government
in order to develop the sector.
`There is a need for increased funding for universities and
research institutions, to facilitate capacity building for
the solid mineral sector. Some selected universities and
polytechnics should be designated as centres of excellence
in mineral related education,'' it added.
