In a bid to solidify the partnership fostered through the Nigeria\u2013South Africa Bi-National Commission\u2014recently inaugurated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2014the Ministers of Solid Minerals of both nations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining key areas of cooperation, complete with implementation timelines.<\/p>\n
During a bilateral meeting at his office in Abuja, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake hosted South Africa\u2019s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, H.E. Gwede Mantashe. Dr. Alake described the engagement as a milestone in deepening bilateral relations, especially in the vital mining sector.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the historical ties between the two countries, Alake noted the longstanding diplomatic and economic cooperation built on mutual respect and a shared vision for Africa\u2019s development. He stressed that collaboration in the mining sector offers vast opportunities for industrialization, job creation, and sustainable growth across the continent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Memorandum of Understanding in geology, mining, and mineral processing signed today,\u201d Alake stated, \u201cwill serve as a cornerstone for facilitating knowledge and technology transfer, investment promotion, capacity building, regional integration, and value addition.\u201d<\/p>\n
*Key Highlights of the MoU Include:*<\/p>\n
\u2022 Capacity building in geological applications using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
\n\u2022 Utilization of Multi- and Hyper-spectral Remote Sensing Technologies for mineral exploration and geological mapping
\n\u2022 Sharing of geoscientific data on strategic minerals through the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA)
\n\u2022 Training on mineral processing and value addition
\n\u2022 Capacity Building on Elemental Fingerprint Technology using LA-ICP-MS
\n\u2022 Exploration of Agro and Energy Minerals In Nigeria<\/p>\n
Alake emphasized Nigeria\u2019s renewed focus on developing its mining industry, stating that South Africa could benefit from Nigeria\u2019s vast mineral wealth, while Nigeria could tap into South Africa\u2019s advanced mining expertise. This synergy, he said, would open doors to investment, skills development, and economic diversification.<\/p>\n
In his remarks, H.E. Gwede Mantashe affirmed that South Africa\u2014where mining plays a central role in the economy\u2014stands to gain from Nigeria\u2019s revitalized interest in the sector. He added that his visit aimed to fine-tune agreements from the Bi-National Commission and to deepen collaboration on mutually beneficial projects with Nigeria\u2019s Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.<\/p>\n
Both ministers committed to sustained engagement and collaboration to boost intra-African trade and deliver on the actionable steps outlined in the MoU. They expressed confidence that this renewed partnership would significantly enhance the mining sectors of both countries.<\/p>\n
The MoU signing was attended by the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Mary Ogbe; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Steel Development, Dr. Chris Isokpunwu; alongside senior officials from both solid minerals and steel development ministries and members of the South African delegation led by H.E. Gwede Mantashe.<\/p>\n
Segun Tomori , FSCA<\/p>\n
Special Assistant on Media
\nto the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development<\/p>\n
16th April, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a bid to solidify the partnership fostered through the Nigeria\u2013South Africa Bi-National Commission\u2014recently inaugurated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13484"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13486,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13484\/revisions\/13486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}