The Potential of Deep Sea Mining in Nigeria: Exploring New Opportunities
The Commonwealth Secretariat recently held discussions with a Nigerian delegation, led by Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, to explore the potential for deep sea mining in Nigeria’s coastal waters. The meeting was aimed at seeking international assistance in repositioning the solid minerals sector to compete on a global scale.
During the meeting, Minister Alake highlighted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recognition of the solid minerals sector as a crucial component of Nigeria’s economic diversification efforts. This has led the ministry to develop a comprehensive seven-point agenda, which includes the establishment of a solid minerals company, the collection of Big Data on mineral reserves to attract investments, enhanced security measures to ensure the safety of mining operations, and the socio-economic development of mining communities through effective community development agreements.
The Commonwealth, with its wealth of expertise, was called upon to support these efforts by Minister Alake. As a former British colony and a member of the 54-member Commonwealth, Nigeria sought to leverage the organization’s knowledge and resources to advance its goals in the solid minerals sector.
In response, the Senior Director of the Trade, Oceans, and Natural Resources Department at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Paul Kautoke, acknowledged Nigeria’s potential as a coastal country to explore the profitable extraction of deep sea minerals such as copper, cobalt, nickel, gold, and rare earth elements. He pointed out that other Commonwealth countries, particularly those in the Pacific region, have made significant progress in deep sea mining and offered to assist Nigeria in developing a policy framework for this burgeoning industry.
The forum also featured contributions from various Commonwealth representatives who emphasized the progress made in deep sea mining and expressed concerns about the underrepresentation of African countries in this sector. They offered to provide training programmes and capacity-building support to help Nigeria catch up in the field of deep sea mining.
In conclusion, Minister Alake expressed gratitude for the insights gained from the discussion and committed to studying the dimension of deep sea mining in collaboration with other ministries. He pledged to develop a comprehensive country proposal to further explore the opportunities presented in the realm of deep sea mining.
With the potential for deep sea mining in Nigeria’s coastal waters and the ongoing discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat, the solid minerals sector is poised for new and exciting opportunities. The collaboration between Nigeria and the Commonwealth holds promise for the advancement of deep sea mining and the overall growth of the country’s mineral development industry.
