The Federal Government, through the Solid Mineral Development Fund (SMDF), has launched a grant programme called Early-Stage Mineral Exploration in Nigeria, tagged ‘EMERGE’. This initiative marks a practical step to ensure that the country’s mineral resources are no longer exported in raw form, as private investors will receive necessary financial support from the government.
Minister Unveils Grant in Abuja
Unveiling the programme yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Henry Dele Alake, stated that the grant, implemented by SMDF, would provide funding for mineral exploration, processing technology, and research. He explained that this includes structured business support to enhance private investment in the sector.
The minister emphasised that the programme represents the missing step towards the reforms the administration has instituted for the sector. According to him, it directly addresses two key priorities: generating reliable data on the country’s priority minerals—which sound investment depends on—and driving value addition and processing that retains mineral value within Nigeria.
Components of the Grant
The grants will support exploration assets, the critical minerals stream, processing technologies that enable minerals to be refined locally, and the research and development stream, which underpins geoscience and mineral processing research.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of SMDF, Fatima Shinkafi, said that EMERGE would strengthen the mining sector through exploration, research, and local value addition. She described the programme as a key component of the Federal Government’s solid minerals reform agenda, aimed at attracting investment, improving geological data, and supporting mineral processing. She noted that reliable data remains crucial to unlocking mining opportunities.
