Nigeria to Give Mining Grants for Research and Exploration

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has announced that mining grants will be given based on merit, not personal connections.

Mr Alake made this statement during the launch of the Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment (EMERGE) Programme. This programme aims to boost mineral exploration, research, and development in Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that EMERGE has three parts. It is funded and run by the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the programme’s administration partner.

The goal of the programme is to support early-stage mineral exploration, improve research skills, and enhance mineral-processing research. It will add value to Nigeria’s mineral resources through grants awarded based on competition.

Mr Alake said that those who will receive the grant will be chosen based on the quality of their proposals. He emphasized that there will be no shortcuts, as only top-quality submissions will get the grant.

“EMERGE will be transparent and competitive from beginning to end.

“Applications will be assessed strictly on merit. The process is independently managed by PwC, our Programme Administration Partner, to ensure transparency, accountability, and equal chances for every applicant,” he said.

He also noted that for the first time in Nigeria, the government is providing dedicated grants for geoscience and mineral-processing research, as well as for mining operators. This is part of the effort to improve the sector.

“The next breakthrough in how we process our lithium, our gold, or our rare earths could come from a laboratory in one of our own universities. EMERGE aims to find it and fund it.

“With grants at the start, de-risking and co-funding in the middle, and an accelerator to push you towards private investment, entrepreneurs in this country have never had it this good.

“The support is here; what remains is for you to apply,” he said.

Mr Alake called this initiative a milestone. He credited it, along with other reforms, to President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to diversifying the economy and making the sector a big contributor to GDP.

“In just a few years, the SMDF has set up the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC)-SMDF Project Development Facility to co-fund and reduce risks for commercial projects.

“It has delivered the 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum alumina refinery, the largest single investment in our mining history.

“It has supplied responsibly sourced, internationally certified gold to the Central Bank of Nigeria, helping to boost our foreign reserves,” he said.

According to him, the Tinubu administration is now offering not just one way but a full corridor of support, from the first geological idea to the final processed product.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of SMDF, Fatima Shinkafi, described EMERGE as a competitive grant facility aimed at fixing one of the biggest gaps in the minerals sector.

Ms Shinkafi said EMERGE puts funding directly in the hands of explorers, universities, and research institutions. This will help more promising projects move from potential to reality.

“For too long, Nigeria’s mineral wealth has remained untapped, with its best projects unable to get early funding.

“EMERGE changes that by funding early-stage exploration, the processing technologies that add value here at home, and the research behind them. It will help grantees move from grants to private investment,” she said.

NAN reports that applications for the grants opened during the unveiling and will be assessed on a rolling, first-come, first-served basis.