As the Federal Government intensifies efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s vast mineral resources and halt the export of raw ores, exploration geophysicists on Monday raised concerns that the country could one day be forced to import minerals it is currently extracting and exporting if strategic deposits are not deliberately conserved.
The warning came as the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, said the Federal Government was strengthening geoscientific data, mineral exploration and professional capacity to transform the mining sector into a major pillar of Nigeria’s economic diversification.
The Nigerian Association of Exploration Geophysicists, however, argued that the push for value addition and increased mining must be matched by a national conservation policy to protect selected high-grade and strategic mineral deposits for future generations and Nigeria’s long-term industrial development.
The contrasting but complementary messages emerged at the 4th Annual International Conference and Training Workshop of the association in Abuja, where professionals examined the role of geophysics in resource exploration, environmental management and infrastructure development.
