Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, and Venezuela’s Deputy Minister of Mining, Alejandro Martinez have explored prospects for bilateral investments in the mining sector.
This took place at the sidelines of the Investing in African Mining Indaba Conference which was held in Cape Town, South Africa from Feb. 3 to Feb. 6.
Alake’s Special Adviser, Kehinde Bamigbetan, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Bamigbetan quoted the minister as highlighting that the common political and economic challenges with Venezuela should encourage both countries to collaborate in sustainably utilising their resources for the maximum benefit of their people.
“I can assure you of Nigeria’s readiness to co-operate with Venezuela in areas of exploitation of our minerals, trade in minerals, and production spanning the entire value chain.
“Take lithium, for instance, we don’t want our lithium to be extracted and carted away.
“We want our lithium to be processed and used to produce electric batteries, phone batteries , and solar power batteries to generate local employment that would create a catalyst and multiplier effect for our economy. I assume that is also your objective,” he said.
He urged Venezuela to join the Super Region, a newly formed coalition of African, Asian, and Middle Eastern mining countries aimed at enhancing trade among members and maximising opportunities.
“It is a platform for countries with similar challenges aspiring to be economically independent, so we are ready and open for business with anyone, any nation, any investor that shows seriousness and clear pathway for legitimate, sustainable and local value addition plans,” he said.
According to him, Martinez said that Venezuelan investors, particularly producers of mining machinery and equipment, are interested in exploring the Nigerian market for opportunities.
He sought the assistance of the minister of Solid Minerals to facilitate collaboration, by encouraging investors to visit the country and gather relevant information to support their investments.
