Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Muhammad Sada yesterday in Abuja called for strong cooperation with Chinese in solid minerals development in Nigeria. Sada who made this call during a bilateral meeting and signing of memorandum of understanding, MoU between Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, NGSA and the China Geological Survey Agency, noted that China is advanced in mining technology. The minister, who was represented by the technical assistant on mines in the ministry, Engr Hassan Umar, said Nigeria being desirous to develop its mining sector has to collaborate with the Chinese in line with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. “We urge the agency to seek the opportunity and exploit all available opportunities in mining. China is highly advanced in all aspects of technology advancements including mineral research, development and exploitation and we need to collaborate with them to acquire all kinds of knowledge that we need to progress”, he said. In his remarks, the NGSA director general, Mr Alex Nwegbu stressed the need to improve on the understanding of the mineral deposits in Nigeria. According to him, the MoU was signed because China is one of the most advanced countries in geo-science exploration and mining across the world. Nwegbu affirmed that for Nigeria “to get to the world best practices, we need to key into the knowledge and expertise of China Geological Survey Agency”, adding that Nigeria could only do that through the instrument of MoU. Some of the areas covered by the MOU include research and basic geology of Nigeria; mineral resources exploration technology and methodology; marine geology; geological map compilation and regional organization and correlation; geo-data construction and sharing etc. The NGSA informed that some staff last year went for training in China, adding that some others will soon go for further training on these areas. Also speaking the leader of the Chinese delegation, Mr Cai Gang said that the bilateral talk will enhance transfer of specific projects and technology to Nigeria. Gang stated that “we will also want to share and transfer ideas”. Meanwhile spokesperson of a Chinese firm operating in Nigeria, Tong Yi Allied Mining Limited, Mrs. River Jiang said that lack of geological data has been main challenge affecting their business as well as other foreign mining companies in Nigeria.
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