The Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) has attributed the growth of the mining sector in the last two years to increased investments due to the interactive fora created to woo investors.
President of the association Alhaji Sani Shehu, made this known at a news conference in Abuja, Monday.
He specifically mentioned the association’s annual Nigeria Mining Week as one of such fora.
He said the event had contributed to the growth and development of the sector’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in the last two years.
He said that some of the big time mining investors, who attended the annual event eventually invested in the sector.
“The annual programme, which was initiated in 2016 has wooed many investors from different countries to Nigeria as a result, many of them have invested tremendously into the sector.
“We can’t say precisely the amount contributed to the sector but the event has been a blessing to the sector and the nation at large,” he said.
Shehu said the programme had served as an eye-opener to the sector on how to move the country from a mono economy.
On the 2018 mining week, he said an estimated 100 mining and exploration companies from 22 countries, 40 exhibitors and sponsors as well as 900 attendees were expected at the event.
He said that critical assessment of the industry, progress, challenges and alignment with the global mining in ecosystem would be discussed at the event.
He said that solutions platform would be created to enable local and international investors navigate the sector during the programme.
The association’s president said the third annual mining week would start from October 15 to October17 in Abuja.
“The 2017 edition was a huge success as it recorded 675 attendees with 25 exhibitors, 300 visitors, 80 mining companies, 13 countries among others.”
The Business Development Manager, Spintelligent, Clarion Event, a collaborator from South Africa Mr Kudakwashe Tsingano said the mining week was one event that had been shaping Nigeria’s mining landscape.
Tsingano said that the success of the event was based on the strong partnerships and trust based the relationships with stakeholders.
He said that the third annual event would open doors with privileged networking opportunities for serious investors, mining operators, finance houses and multilateral investors among others.
The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that the mining sector in the second quarter of 2017 grew by 2.24 per amounting to N3.5 billion, which surpassed the total revenue of about N2 billion generated in 2016.