France to fund Nigeria’s geological data exploration

France has committed to funding the geological data exploration of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA).

Kehinde Bamigbetan, the special adviser to Dele Alake, minister of solid minerals development, announced France’s commitment in a statement on Monday.

Bamigbetan said the decision to fund the exploration is part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on mining activities signed by both countries in December 2024.

On December 1, 2024, Nigeria and France signed a MoU for the diversification of critical value chains in the solid minerals sectors of both countries during President Bola Tinubu’s official visit to Paris.

The special adviser said Alake and Benjamin Gallezot, who leads France’s inter-ministerial delegate for strategic minerals, met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the ongoing Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to advance the MOU.

He also said both countries resolved to exchange information on mining laws to compare cadastral management and provisions on illegal mining.

“Opening the talks, Alake appreciated Gallezot for working with him to produce the MOU despite the severe time constraints during the visit of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu to French President Emmanuel Macron, adding that attempts by political opponents to misinform the public about the genuine objectives of the MOU have been sufficiently neutralised,” Bamigbetan said.

“He said the Future Minerals Forum allowed both countries to move their understanding forward by designing programmes, policies, and projects to remove doubts about collaboration and generate positive outcomes.”

The special adviser also said Gallezot announced that his department was screening a list of French companies that had applied to invest in the Nigerian mining sector and would forward the final list of verified serious investors to Nigeria’s ministry of solid minerals development.

Also, Gallezot told the delegation that the proposals at the talks would be discussed at various levels of the government, and a programme for execution worked out, adding that both countries’ geological agencies could conduct joint exploration work on specific minerals to develop a robust database.

Bamigbetan added that the meeting featured issues such as sustainable mining, artisanal mining, geological exploration, cadastral management, training, and funding.

‘NIGERIA’S LABORATORY NEEDS TO BE UPGRADED’

Bamigbetan said Olusegun Ige, the director-general of the NGSA, said the lack of advanced technological equipment delayed the exploration of large mineralised spaces.

“Professor Ige said the laboratory must also be upgraded to analyse extracted rocks using the latest gadgets to generate accurate information,” the special adviser said.

“Harping on the need for training and skills transfer, Professor Ige emphasised the need to develop local expertise with international exposure because mining is a global business.“

Also speaking at the meeting, Simon Nkom, director-general (DG) of the Nigerian mining cadastral office, called for a comparison of mining laws between France and Nigeria.

Nkom explained that identifying areas of common practice could benefit the ongoing review of Nigerian mining laws.

The DG asked the French delegation to encourage French investors to explore opportunities in Nigeria’s mining sector through the MOU.

Fatima Shinkafi, executive secretary of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), also called for co-funding of early-stage exploration projects by the agency and French financial institutions, adding that the SMDF has acquired many historical data and best practices from its current collaboration with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) to fund mining entrepreneurs seeking funding for exploration.

‘NIGERIA’S GEOLOGISTS TO BENEFIT FROM FRANCE’S FUNDING’

According to the statement, Christophe Poinssot, deputy director of the French Geological Agency, promised to include Nigeria in France’s funding program for African geologists in response to NGSA’s concerns.

“Noting that over 1,000 African geologists have benefitted from the eight-year fund, he said the request for capacity building in line with the MOU came when the new phase of the funding project was about to start,” Bamigbetan said.

“Poinssot also announced that Nigeria would benefit from France’s programme of empowering mining countries by building laboratories for geological analysis, adding that since Nigeria has a laboratory, France would upgrade it to meet international standards.”

The special adviser said Nigeria and France resolved to develop the programme and review the implementation during next month’s annual Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.