By Modupe Gbadeyanka
All is now set for the annual Nigeria Mining Week commencing from Monday, October 14 to Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at the NAF Conference Centre and Suites in Abuja.
The event is organised by Spintelligent, a well-known trade conference and expo organiser on the continent of Africa. The company has particular expertise and experience in mining, infrastructure development and energy; including long-running flagship shows such as Future Energy Nigeria in Lagos, DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi, East & Central Africa Mining Forum in Kigali and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in Cape Town.
For the Nigeria Mining Week, which has the backing of federal government, will kick off with a pre-conference on finance and investment day today, with the opening session, conference and exhibition slated for tomorrow and the day after.
Last week, the recently-appointed Nigerian Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, expressed the commitment of the ministry to become more involved in the annual Nigeria Mining Week, saying, “We want to put some life in Nigeria Mining Week and we want to deepen what happens.”,
Speaking further at a pre-event press briefing at the ministry in Abuja last Tuesday, Mr Adegbite said his ministry was getting more involved in the event on the request of the organisers, the Miners Association of Nigeria and other stakeholders.
According to him,
All parties have agreed that the event should always be private sector-led but that as the host ministry, it should become more involved.
“Nigeria is not known as a mining destination yet. We want to attract the right people and the right names to be at the Mining Week. The planning for the next Mining Week will start at the end of this one,” he said.
Organisers of the event are expecting over 1200 mining experts, more than 180 mines and exploration companies and over 40 sponsors with more than 24 countries represented.