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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) and the Ore Reserves Development Forum (ORDF) have joined forces in a fresh push to clear the obstacles blocking miners from accessing funding in Nigeria.
In a statement in Abuja, Abdulmajeed Amussah, Technical Adviser to the SMDF Executive Secretary, Fatima Umaru Shinkafi, said the two bodies will host a national workshop on 9 December in Abuja, aimed at breaking long-standing financing hurdles, especially for early-stage miners struggling to attract investors.
The workshop, themed “Building a Sustainable Mining Finance Framework for Nigeria”, will bring together miners, banks, regulators, government agencies and technical experts to rebuild confidence in the sector.
According to the statement, investment in the mining industry has remained low because many investors do not trust the geological and project data available. It added that transparent, reliable reporting is now essential for winning investor confidence and speeding up project development.
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ORDF Chairman, Uba Saidu Malami, warned that despite Nigeria’s huge mineral wealth, many viable projects still fail to secure funding simply because their data does not meet investor standards.
The workshop will examine mineral reporting standards, financing routes from exploration to production, and policy measures that can cut risks for miners and lenders.
A major outcome will be a draft Mining Finance Framework, to be refined later by a technical working group drawn from across the mining value chain.
