The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has advised mining companies to emulate the international best practices of the Segilola gold project to develop the sector.
He expressed the commitment of the federal government to support mining companies that placed a premium on local content in their operations.
Alake spoke during a site tour of the Segilola Resources Operating Limited (SROL), an indigenous gold mining company in Ilesha, Osun State during which he lauded the extensive work that had gone into the facility, expressing delight that over 95% of its staff were Nigerians, and urging other operators to take a cue from it.
”It gladdens my heart that this is a wholly Nigerian project, and that is very commendable. Yes, you have contractors, experts, and technical professionals, which is expected in any project of this magnitude, but it is essentially a Nigerian project. That for me is very remarkable and worthy of emulation by other potential investors, local or foreign alike,” Alake added.
The minister commended the company’s tenacity of purpose and efficient methods deployed to push through with its vision, despite daunting challenges at inception.
Stressing that his focus had been to redirect local and international attention to the mining sector, Alake revealed that the implementation of his 7-point agenda was to reposition the mining sector.
“I have made sanitising the security of mining environment one of the critical points of my 7-point agenda. Recently, as part of the process of actualising that policy, I had to unveil the creation of a mines marshal. They have a base in all the states of the country, with the command structure in my office, and in fact, that has thrown some sanity into the operating environment of the mining sector. Reports reaching us indicate that illegal miners are already fleeing their sites, even before operations reach a crescendo”, he affirmed.
Emphasising the imperative of harmonious relationship with host communities, Alake lauded SROL for overshooting its community development targets, urging mining companies across the country to follow suit to ensure a safer and unfettered operating environment which would culminate in maximum beneficiation for both operators, the host communities and government.
In his remarks, the MD/CEO of Segilola Resources, Segun Lawson, stated that the company was a world-class project powered by Nigerians, appealing for support from the Federal Governnment to enable it scale up, and contribute better to the economy of the country.
The minister, in his response, pledged the support of the Federal Government for SROL, particularly because it promoted local content and positively impacted the host community with developmental projects.
