After another round of assessment of the World Bank's project in the mining sector, Obinna Ezeobi writes on the prospect of an impending transformation in the sector.

As a result of the dominance of the oil sector in Nigeria‘s economy since the 1970s, many people have virtually forgotten that the country is abundantly blessed in solid mineral deposits, which if well harnessed, can overtake most other sectors in terms of job creation and poverty alleviation.

The story of how the fortunes of the Nigerian mining sector plummeted owing to wrong government policies and abandonment, fall in mineral prices and absence of legal and institutional frameworks is well documented.

However, the good news is that the sector is on the verge of resurgence as a result of the $120m credit, which the World Bank granted Nigeria, through the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in 2005.

Although officials of the World Bank had, on periodic reviews sessions, commended the application of the funds in key areas of the industry, the Task Team Leader, Mr. Craig Andrews, returned to Nigeria two weeks ago for yet another field assessment of the projects executed under the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project.

The team first visited the Kaduna Area Office of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency.

Most of the existing buildings are dilapidated, but the project is carrying out a massive architectural rehabilitation of the building and erecting new ones, which will house the National Geosciences Laboratory Research Centre.

Speaking while conducting Andrews around the complex, the Project Coordinator of SMMRP, Mr. Linus Adie, explained that when set up, the laboratory, which will have ISO certification, would analyse samples for foreign and indigenous mining firms operating in Nigeria and put an end to what obtained currently where such samples were sent abroad.

He said, ”The efficiency of the laboratory is very critical. The analysis obtained here will determine whether an investor will put in his money or not.

“Unless they have confidence in the laboratory, we will end up sending our samples abroad. This will save the country a lot of foreign exchange. It will boost exploration and boost the development of the sector.”

Impressed by the progress of work, the team leader told our correspondent that the laboratory will allow the government and the investors to locate mineral deposits.

He said, ”When they locate them, they can create jobs, create rural development impacts, create spin off impacts on vendors and suppliers and generate tax revenue for the government.

”One of the principal objectives of the project is to provide an alternative for the oil revenue which has been dominant in the Nigerian economy.

”It aims to stimulate rural income, because these mines will be located in rural areas and the villagers will have jobs. Investors will come and they will invest in school and dispensaries. We have seen the power of science to help do this in every country.”

The inspection team also visited the old area office of Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in Jos, Plateau State which the project is also rehabilitating after it had been left without maintenance for many years.

After completion, the building will host the Gemology and Lapidary Centre.

Aside from placing orders for stocking the lapidary and gemology centre, the project has also engaged a Canadian expert, who will come and take small scale miners on a three months course on how best to cut gemstones.

On the rationale for training the miners, the Project Coordinator explained that ”although Nigeria is wooing big mining companies, when they come, one of the things they look out for is their relationship with small scale miners. We have to teach our people how to marry the two.”

Andrews concurred on the importance of the Gemology and Lapidary Centre.

He said, ”That is also an exciting aspect of the project. Nigeria has had a gemstone industry for years, but the project only got serious about helping artisanal miners in the gemstone industry in the last three years.

”One of the difficulties has been in establishing a market for Nigeria gemstone.

“You are in competition with other countries such as Tanzania, Sri Lanka or Thailand .

“But the exciting thing is that you have stones here that are of good quality, that have a very good marketability.

”We are working with the ministry to have some bazaars put into the Nigerian gemstones and some additional publicity.”

But in the typical World Bank style, adequate care will be made to ensure that the extraction and processing of the gemstones takes place with due consideration of social and environmental considerations, especially occupational safety.

Despite the obvious success, which has also been acknowledged by members of the legislature, some persons continue to criticise the management of the World Bank credit, especially how the PMU has handled the $10m component which is to be given as grants to artisanal miners.

In July, eight mining cooperative societies and two community development associations were selected across the country as the first set of beneficiaries of the $10m World Bank grant.

Keen to assess how the cooperatives have fared since benefiting from the grant, the visitation team checked on the Irrigwe Women Multi-purpose Cooperative Society in Jos, Plateau State, who got a grant of N7m.

The 28 member cooperative society is engaged in quarry and they break the stones manually, to the detriment of their health.

However, the project through the grant bought and mounted a mechanical crusher for the society. The crusher can produce 5 tons of granite per hour- a massive improvement in their output and an increase in their earning power.

Members of the cooperative plan to pool their proceeds together and share them at the end of each month.

Adie told our correspondent that ”The small grant is a major activity of the project. Some of our deliverables are based on the outcomes of this sub-project.

”It is a poverty reduction strategy to give people some money to improve their business, and we will do everything to ensure that this project succeeds. That is why we are putting in lot of efforts.”

He further explained that the class of people who benefited from the small grants are mostly widows who have no livelihood.

He also expects the beneficiaries to experience about 200 per cent in their income as a result of the mechanical crusher.

Similarly, Andrews also confirmed that he was encouraged to see the women cooperative society.

He, however, added that ”The grant is quite recent, so it will be too early for us to have positive results. But as the staff explained to me, it is not just the money that is the benefit from it, because they are able to increase their productivity, increase their own income. They are able to sell to more; people have to transport the material, people have to bring food to the site, you have spin off effects that are significant.

“Even though the programme is relatively new, we know we do not have a full result yet, I think we are relatively encouraged by what we have seen so far.”

On his overall assessment after visiting the projects, the Task Team Leader, said the performance of the SMMPR was exemplary.

According to him, ”It is an example of how the World Bank working in cooperation with a very dynamic team, with the government and the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development can do good things. We have seen the work we have done in Kaduna , the rehabilitation of the Geological Survey. We have also seen the work on the mines inspection.

”We have also seen a very exciting project, which is the birth of the Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences in Jos.

”Since I have been with this in the project for the last four years, I have seen a lot of progress and we are at the verge of even making more progress as we go forward.”