By Ezra Musa
Kaduna – The Bank of Industry (BOI) on Thursday wooed small-scale miners with its intervention funds that would enable them transit into more established miners.
The State Manager of BOI, Muktar Bawuro said at a stakeholders’ workshop in Kaduna that the aim was to attract investment to the sector.
The workshop was organized by BOI in conjunction with the Solid Minerals Trade Group.
According to Bawuro, there is the need for stakeholders in the solid mineral and mining industry in Kaduna to be aware of the mining intervention fund.
“The stakeholders should be aware of the standard requirements by BOI, the funding windows, states’ matching funds and how to access them,” he said.
A participant at the workshop, Tsura John-Way, however, queried the funding options in the mining industry, saying the options should encourage the entire value chain in the sector.
“For example, exploration could take up to seven years, but the funding options do not encourage that, so there is the need to have a policy that will reflect the reality in the industry,” John-Way said.
Lawal Mayere, Chairman of the Solid Mineral Trade Group of Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, said the workshop was also to attract international investment to the sector.
Mayere said the issues raised at the workshop would be considered in the interest of the industry.
(NAN)
