The Solid Minerals Development Fund, SMDF, plans to hold a Strategic Roundtable Workshop for the North-Central Zone of the country in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The parley is geared towards repositioning Nigeria’s solid minerals to attract international attention.
Hajia Fatima Shinkafi, the Executive Secretary, SMDF, said in a statement on Monday that similar workshops would be replicated in other zones in the near future.
Shinkafi said that the two-day workshop, scheduled to hold between Dec. 14 and Dec. 15, in Lafia, was aimed at effectively repositioning and harnessing opportunities in the sector.
“The workshop aims to gain a deeper understanding of solid mineral development, its operations and areas of intervention.
“The workshop is also to identify potential partners and donors to the fund, as well as develop an action plan with artisans, and identify linkages for sustainable development in the sector,’’ she said.
The Executive Secretary, who said that there was a large deposit of barites in Nigeria, enjoined the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to begin to patronise Nigeria’s huge barite market, in line with the Local Content Act of 2010.
Shinkafi said that the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, would deliver the keynote address at the workshop.
According to her, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Tanko Umar Al-Makura, will declare the workshop open.
