THE Federal Government, on Thursday, disbursed a sum of N84 million to 11 tertiary institutions for research development in areas relating to mapping and evaluation of particular mineral products.
Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development (MMSD), Honourable Abubakar Bwari made this known in Abuja at the presentation of letters of participation of research development with tertiary institutions.
He explained that the collaboration and funds shared would increase the fountain of geosciences data available for investors and find Nigeria a befitting place on the World Mining Map.
The minister said: “without geosciences data, there can be no mining and Nigeria suffers from lack of adequate data, especially the kind of bankable data that major mining companies need in order to invest in the sector.
“We hope that it will impact on the students and lecturers that will be involved in the fieldworks so that the quality of learning in schools will continue to be improved upon.” He added.
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Bwari however, hyped-up the benefiting universities, saying they won the grants on the basis of the merits of their research proposals and potential value to the growth and development of the sector.
He also urged the recipients to stick to their terms of reference and ensure that they deliver within six months.
“This is merely the first in the series and with the signing of the 2018 Budget, the second phase of this collaboration will commence soon.
He, however, said that as the government’s source of funding improves, it intends to continuously increase the amount of money spent on critical components of mining.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abdulkadir Mu’Azu, said one of the key impediments to the development of the mining sector is the issue of supplying needed talents and human persons.
He stated that there was a need to do much research and invest in research so the sector can grow using it as one of the vehicles for diversification.
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