Dele Alake, the minister of solid minerals development, says President Bola Tinubu has identified the solid minerals sector as a pillar of Nigeria’s current efforts to diversify the economy.

According to a statement issued Monday by his media aide Kehinde Bamigbetan, Mr Alake disclosed this while discussing prospects for deep sea mining in Nigeria’s coastal waters during a visit to the Commonwealth Secretariat in the United Kingdom.

Mr Alake said the ministry had developed a seven-point agenda that included establishing a solid minerals company.

He said the agenda also included gathering big data on mineral reserves to keep mines safe, among other things. The minister added that the agenda included the socio-economic development of mining communities through effective community development agreements.

The minister urged that the Commonwealth should support the efforts of Mr Tinubu’s government. He said the ministry would study a dimension of deep-sea mining in collaboration with other ministries and put together a proposal for further consideration.

Commonwealth’s senior director of trade (Oceans and Natural Resources Department), Paul Kautoke, said Nigeria, as a coastal country, could explore the prospects of deep-sea minerals such as copper, cobalt, nickel, gold and rare earth elements.

He said many Commonwealth countries in the Pacific region were making inroads into deep-sea mining.

Mr Kautoke said the Commonwealth could assist in developing a policy in that regard for Nigeria. 

(NAN)