The federal government yesterday inaugurated state-of-the-art Fire Assay laboratory and Earthquake Monitoring Centre, the very first of its kind in the West Africa region.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, disclosed that the nation was building a world-class mining sector that would be the toast of investors.
Adegbite made the disclosure during the inauguration of the two projects built by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) in Kaduna State.
The minister while answering questions from journalists on the sidelines shortly after the laboratory inauguration said: “The commissioning today is a testament to the impressive policy drive of President Buhari.
“He is the only president that has put extra budgetary funds into the sector to develop it.”
He said that the Fire Assay Laboratory is the first of its type in Nigeria and West Africa in general and is considered the most reliable means for accurately determining the content of gold, silver, and platinum-group metals in ores or concentrates.
The minister further noted that the laboratory was a crucial analytical infrastructure needed in the mining sector to accurately determine the concentrates of precious metals in ore, noting that the development was bound to take the mining sector to the next level.
He further said that the establishment of a Fire Assay Laboratory was a crucial step towards making the country a major mining destination.
“We now have the analytical facilities that can support the mining ecosystem in the country and this is bound to attract more foreign interest into the sector,” he said.
Adegbite also noted that the Fire Assay Laboratory would save the country millions of dollars spent outside the country to conduct such analysis on metal ores.
According to him, “With the establishment of a fire Assay Laboratory, we do not need to take metal ores out of the country to determine the level of concentrate of precious metals, thereby expending our scarce foreign exchange in other countries.
“This fire Assay Laboratory would free up scarce foreign exchange, while it would also serve as a revenue generator for the government as companies who want to mine precious metals would no longer need to send samples out of the country but now send them to our laboratory in Kaduna which would be a source of revenue generation for the government.”
Source: Thisday
