African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) Workstream Lead, Engr. Auwal Bununu, who doubles as Technical Adviser to the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), in this interview with Obagah Izuagie discusses the state of the sector with regard to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), saying that the success recorded by the country in the area of mineral exploration and geo-data development has significantly increased investments in the sector during the past four years.
The theme of the 2023 National Conference of the Geological Society of Nigeria (GSN) is Geodata development for investment purpose in the mining sector.’ How would you describe the state of the sector in terms of geoscience data for mining investment?
I am a private sector operator and any reasonable investment in mining cannot do without geoscience information.The NGSA has mandate for geosciences data generation. Let me tell you this: Geoscience information is the first key to mining investment.
Other things are also important, but they come only after you have good information on solid minerals available in the country. In answering your question, I can tell you that through NGSA, Nigeria has recorded a paradigm shift in geodata development in the past three and half to four years. This is not to say that they have finished their job, but we have to give credit to whom it is due. The point must be made that the volume of data generated by the NGSA in the past three and half years has never been achieved within that time-frame since the agency was established. It is the first time a JORC-compliant mineral exploration project is carried out in Nigeria. All over the world, geoscience information, also known as geodata, is the basis for any informed mining investment. So, the Agency has been able to show the world more of what we have, but like I said, it should be a continuous process.
As a core investor, I have been engaged with various agencies in the mining sector and it is easy to observe that investors now have access to more geodata than what we used to have in the distant past. As a result of this, investments in the sector have been on the increase. I am impressed with the innovations in mineral exploration that the Dr. A. A. Garba-led Management of NGSA is bringing on board in Nigeria.
Kindly discuss some of the innovations sir.
Let me start by saying that all over the world, geoscience information, also known as geodata, is the basis for any informed decision in mining. As a result of the crucial importance of geodata to mining investment, advanced countries devised modern technology such as artificial intelligence, machine leaning, drone technologies and use of autonomous machines in data generation. As part of the technology transfer embarked upon by the NGSA in the area of geodata development, I understand that the NGSA is in collaboration with some foreign partners on geochronology, Curtin University, Australia, in particular. Geochronology is the age-dating of rocks and minerals by which the mineralisation of a region can be discovered. It helps greatly in tying minerals resources to rocks age groups which will in turn make mineral discovery less cumbersome. I understand that some NGSA staff are on training abroad and locally to understudy various modern techniques of geodata development, and they will share the knowledge when they return to the country.
What about the issue of reliable of geoscience information?
With JORC compliance that is the practice with the NIMEP Project, what we get from NGSA has been 100% reliable. So far, there has been no doubt about the data released by the NGSA. As part of reforms aimed at repositioning NGSA to give needed visibility to geodata, the NGSA is working to deploy its exploration findings via electronic methods. The Agency recently commissioned the National Geodata Centre. I think this is in the news, and you are aware of it, and it has won a lot of commendation. So when you ask me to discuss the state of geodata in Nigeria, I can confidently tell you that a lot is being achieved in mineral exploration, technical services and laboratory services among others.
There are also local and international collaborations by the NGSA to strengthen delivery in these areas, and NACCIMA is a partner of the NGSA in this regard. I know that government needs to do more, but we also know that in terms of geosciences data, Nigeria is no longer where it was four years ago. Let me give you an example. Look at the NIMEP Project, it has changed where we were. Look at the Bitumen Exploration project; it has helped to reposition the sector for economic diversification. Are you not aware of the Bitumen Exploration Project of the NGSA! NGSA recent explored and validated the country’s bitumen belt, and the report was very useful in auctioning the bitumen blocks to various investors.
As a result of the reports on bitumen exploration projects carried out by NGSA, investors have become confident that the resource is in designated areas. The NGSA has also been able to increase the capacity of its mineral testing laboratories. I am aware that the NGSA’s Fire Assay and Mineral Testing Laboratory in Kaduna were commissioned recently. The Laboratory will be able to provide international standard technical services soon which will help to address capital flight when fully operational. You asked me to discuss innovations. Another new effort is the installation of a seismic detector in the FCT and some other strategic points across the federation. They are still trying to achieve nationwide seismic coverage. These are some of the efforts that tell us the state of geodata in the country. Like I have said, Nigeria still has to do a lot more of geodata development. In fact, mineral exploration is continuous and still ongoing even in well established mining nations like Canada and Australia. One of the reasons why Nigeria was backward in geodata is because NGSA was not able to reposition itself. I want to re-emphasize the importance of NGSA as a Geosciences data generation agency. Go to Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Europe or anywhere in the world, Geological Surveys of nations are very important because they are the source of information that an investor needs. Until there is information on available minerals in a country, there will be no investor! In recent time, geoscientific information on minerals in Nigeria has been made available and it is evident that investments in the sector are on the increase as a result of that.
What about geo-data for foreign investments in Nigerian mining sector, do you see it coming?
Nigeria has already started with the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP) of the Federal Government which was supervised by the NGSA. The successes recorded by the project, means so much to those of us who are investors. We are confident that the Project report would attract a lot of FDIs to Nigeria. Before the NIMEP Project, foreign investors and even the local investors did not take Nigeria serious because there was no geodata that industries can easily understand. I remember that top government officials tried their best to woo foreign investors in global mining conferences. That effort was not bad, but the first thing to do was a standard mineral exploration project which we now have in NIMEP. It was during the NIMEP Project that global investors developed anxiety about what the project report would look like. Fortunately, preliminary reports already indicated that NIMEP was a positive for Nigeria. The point to make is that NIMEP should not have stopped. It should have simply continued. Nigeria needs more of NIMEP Projects to continue to maximize potentials for FDIs.
How can private sector operators key into mineral exploration projects for geodata development?
No, no, no, it’s too costly and risky for the private sector. All over the world, only national governments have been responsible for mineral exploration projects of the NIMEP magnitude. To be frank with you, the volume of funds involved in mineral exploration is not a child’s play; even governments feel the heat when they do it. NGSA is the only government agency with statutory mandate to play that role. Some NGSA staff worked with the foreign consultants that handled the NIMEP project, and there was some sort of knowledge sharing. For many years, the NGSA was not able to embark on the kind of mineral exploration like the NIMEP Project. I think it’s the first of its kind in this country. The agency was not able to package geodata and embark on feasibility studies in a way that will win the confidence of foreign investors. For many reasons, they could not tell us the estimate of certain mineral resources in particular licensed areas. When Dr Garba came on board, the changes were obvious. He has been able to re-position NGSA to be able to fulfill its mandate. Until a nation gets its geodata right, it would not be able to develop its mining sector. It is evident that NGSA under Dr. A. A. Garba has been able to change the narrative.
You spoke of NACCIMA as a body of businessmen with interest in sectors of the Nigerian economy? To what extent do you think Nigerians are interested in investing in mining?
Nigerians are interested but not everyone knows how to approach the mining sector. Again, let me discuss the efforts of the NGSA to woo local investors. Through various Mineral Clinics, NGSA encourages investors and members of the general public to invest in minerals. They educate the public on the economic possibilities in solid minerals. Attendance is free. On such days, as an investor, I take my mineral samples to the NGSA and the samples are tested free-of-charge. If you have a rock sample in your backyard, you can take it to NGSA and they will analyse it for you at zero cost. This is really encouraging, and it shows that they are not wooing only foreign investors, but also wooing Nigerians to get engaged with wealth creation through the mining sector. I know this much because I am an investor. The NGSA has an investment-friendly approach to investors. In fact, the Agency is currently in collaboration with NACCIMA. I am sure that you are aware that NACCIMA is a body top notch investors with interest in mining and all other sectors of the economy, and we are making progress with NGSA and we share in their efforts to open up the mining sector for local and foreign investments.
He has been able to reposition NGSA to produce qualitative feasibility studies needed to attract more investors to the sector.