By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Senior Mining Specialist, Energy and Extractive Industries (GEEDR) at the World Bank, Francisco Igualada, has reaffirmed the global bank’s support for the mining industry in Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, we have managed to develop a real ‘partnership’ with the Federal Government of Nigeria and we are still working along with some of the States that have higher mining potentials,” Igualada declared.
As a featured speaker at the upcoming Nigeria Mining Week in October in Abuja, he will address the high-level industry gathering on ‘Establishing a strong foundation for mining sector development: Enhancing competitiveness and fostering domestic investment in Nigeria.’
In an exclusive interview with the organisers, Mr Igualada says, “The World Bank follows a kind of value chain that bring those countries we support from non-renewable resources to a stage in which sustainable development may take place. Each country has its own idiosyncrasy and characteristics.
“I am particularly excited about two projects; our critical involvement in DRC in support of the rationalization of the sector through nearly five years as well as my responsibility in managing our recently approved 150 million loan project (MinDiver) for developing the Nigerian mineral sector and diversifying it from its dependency on other sectors like oil & gas as President Buhari has clearly indicated in his inaugural speech; two sectors need continuous development in Nigeria, that are agriculture and mining.
“This is the reason why the Minister Dr Kayode Fayemi with his drive and strong determination has led the initiative to put Nigeria ‘on the African mining map again’ as, in my opinion, the country deserves.”
He adds, “from the Bank’s side, I am really looking forward to contribute to transforming their potential resources into some tangible exploration and exploitation mineral projects bringing economic prosperity and jobs. Nigeria is the first African economy and really needs the employment that mining and all types of value-chain including local content can bring.”
Mr Igualada says his message at Nigeria Mining Week in October in Abuja is “rather straightforward: ‘we need to get it right’ once for all and this means that a strong sector foundation is a must.
Afterwards facilitating downstream sector developments and the enhancement of competitiveness need to happen as a logical result. This cannot and should not be improvised and built on a piece-meal basis. Consequently, the only way to bring competitiveness… that obviously comes from competing with our external environment – is by building an integrated approach that would facilitate sharing information and resources with other development donors that are betting on Nigeria as well. Competing should be both internal and external even if nowadays such distinction is a bit blurred due to globalisation of economies.”
The upcoming Nigeria Mining Week, which is taking place again in Abuja from 16-19 October, is a successful partnership between PwC, the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) and event organisers Spintelligent.
This high-level, strategic mining investment platform will link investors, project developers, financiers, technology providers and government to share best practices and demonstrate the latest strategies to evolve the sector successfully.
The programme at Nigeria Mining Week 2017, including new features, includes B2B International Expo: Featuring leading technology and innovative services covering the value chain of the mining industry.
In addition, it features Strategic Conference: Providing strategic insights into hot legal and regulatory issues, investment, finance as well as market access and community involvement; free Technical Workshops: Enhancing practical expertise to grow artisanal and small-scale operations with an A to Z mining toolkit; CEO Roundtable: Deep diving into the key challenges facing the private stakeholders, driven by MAN and PwC – new; investor Breakfast: Delivering all the necessary information and contacts required to invest in mining in Nigeria – new; – Dragons’ Den: Enabling project financing by pitching mining business plans to a panel of selected financiers – new; and Site Visit: Discovering first-hand the reality and best practice of a world-class operation – new.
As with previous years, the Nigeria Mining Week is enjoying strong support from the industry with confirmed sponsorships from Palladium Mining Limited, SBOG, Aelex, AG Vision Mining, Congo Energy Solutions, Kian Smith Trade & Co, Mantrac, Minelab, SMT and Wilbahi.
The Nigeria Mining Week organiser Spintelligent is a well-known trade conference and expo organiser on the continent. The company has particular expertise and experience in mining and infrastructure development events; including the long running flagship shows such as DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi, the Kenya Mining Forum in Nairobi and African Utility Week in Cape Town.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya