ORDF, SMDF Workshop on Sustainable Mining Finance Scheduled for December 9

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Ore Reserves Development Forum (ORDF) and the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) are set to take a major step toward reshaping Nigeria’s mining industry with a one-day workshop scheduled for December 9, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

The event, themed “Building a Sustainable Mining Finance Framework for Nigeria,” seeks to address one of the sector’s most persistent challenges — the difficulty miners face in accessing reliable financing due to weak investor confidence in geological data and project transparency.

In a statement signed by Mr. Abdulmajeed Amussah, Technical Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the SMDF, the Fund expressed concern that many mining ventures struggle to attract capital because investors remain uncertain about the accuracy and reliability of available data.

According to the statement, the upcoming workshop will bring together miners, financial institutions, policymakers, regulators, and technical experts to strengthen the link between geological reporting and financial credibility.

Chairman of ORDF, Uba Saidu Malami, stressed that improved transparency and data integrity are essential to unlocking the full potential of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.

“The mining industry can make significant contributions to Nigeria’s economic growth. However, many promising projects fail to attract funding because investors do not fully trust available data. This workshop will enable stakeholders to collaborate on building a transparent, reliable system that supports investment and long-term sector development,” Malami said.

Participants will explore key issues such as mineral reporting standards, financing pathways from exploration to production, policy and regulatory incentives, and strategies for creating a functional mining finance ecosystem suited to Nigeria’s realities.

At the end of the sessions, stakeholders are expected to produce a draft Mining Finance Framework, which will be refined by a technical working group comprising representatives from key institutions across the mining value chain.

The initiative builds on recommendations from the Geological Society of Nigeria’s Roundtable 2.0, which brought together experts from technical, regulatory, financial, and policy backgrounds. The roundtable underscored the need to improve ore reserve classification, enhance technical capacity, and develop structured financing mechanisms—particularly through the capital market—to unlock Nigeria’s solid minerals endowment.

It also emphasized that only a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach anchored on sound industrial policy and sustainable investment principles can deliver lasting reform.

Among expected participants are the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake; Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun; Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission; Executive Secretary of SMDF; President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; Managing Director of NEXIM Bank; and President of the Miners Association of Nigeria.

Other notable attendees include the Managing Director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Aminu Umar Sadiq; the Nigerian Export Promotion Council; New Nigeria Development Company; Raw Materials Research and Development Council; Gems and Precious Metals Confederation; the Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals; and the Director General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency.

Also expected are representatives of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, the Iraqi Embassy, NACCIMA, COMEG, NSEG, NIMMME, and several other industry institutions.

Organisers expressed optimism that the workshop would mark a turning point for Nigeria’s mining sector — one that lays the foundation for a credible and sustainable financing system capable of harnessing the country’s mineral wealth for generations to come.