Solid Minerals Minister Urges OAU to Partner Investors on Mineral Assets

In the meantime, the minister urged the OAU to work with private investors in joint ventures, noting that the investors could bring in capital and equipment while the university could contribute its technical expertise and make money from its mineral resources.

Alake said, “You have the resource endowment underground, and you have the intellectual capacity. “You can bring in investors in the form of a joint venture and they can provide the capital and the machinery.

He further stated that ownership of land does not automatically translate to ownership of the mineral resources beneath it, noting that such resources are vested in the Nigerian Government by the Constitution and relevant mining laws.

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The minister revealed that the Nigerian Government had restructured the development of Nigeria’s bitumen resources by opening designated bitumen blocks to competitive bidding by qualified investors.

Alake urged the OAU to increase its contribution in the mining sector of Nigeria, through mineral exploration, research, innovation, training and commercialization.

He stressed the importance of bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Universities should not just create knowledge, they should translate such knowledge into solutions, enterprises and economic value for society, the minister said.

Alake said the Ministry remained committed to creating a transparent and investment-friendly regulatory environment that encourages responsible mining, value addition and sustainable economic benefits for Nigerians.