Ahead of the much awaited Nigeria Mining Week, holding in Abuja, Nigeria between October 14 and 16, Mr Begna Gebreyes, Senior Vice President: Investments, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) says “the main message I’d like to share with the delegates at Nigeria Mining Week is that Nigeria is open for business and is ready to make the most of its mineral wealth. The country has much to offer such as coal, gold, iron ore, uranium, wolframite, columbite, tantalite and bitumen. Diversifying away from oil, which is unpredictable in pricing, is key to ensuring the country’s economic.” The Nigeria Mining Week conference and exhibition is jointly organized by PwC, Spintelligent and the Mining Association of Nigeria (MAN). The event is expected to attract more than 1200 mining experts, 180+ mines and exploration companies, 40+ sponsors with more than 24 countries represented.
Further, Bebreyes stated that “delegates must understand that Nigeria’s mineral wealth must be exploited in a way that is inclusive and sustainable, and more thought must be given to in-country beneficiation so that Nigerians are not only producing natural resources but also manufacturing finished products.”
Gebreyes is part of a panel discussion on “Understanding the needs of financial institutions and funding organizations-the financial models available to support mining projects”.
“Our goal is to grow our investments in mining, over the next few years, to over US$500 million. There are many exciting projects that merit investment. One example of such an exciting project is the Segilola Gold Project in Nigeria with Thor Explorations. We have offered the company a US$78-million financing,” he maintained.
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