The Nigeria Solid Minerals Development Fund has conducted a one-day staff training following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with GeoScan GmbH of Berlin, Germany during the German Chancellor’s visit in October 2023.
This was disclosed in a statement by the head of corporate communications of SDMF, Idowu Jokpeyibo, according to Businessday.
Jokpeyibo stated that the program aims to enhance the discovery and exploitation of Nigeria’s essential minerals through new proprietary technology.
According to him, the training workshop aimed to increase Nigerian geoscientists’ capacity for using remote sensing technology in geological mapping and mineral exploration, as well as to ensure that Nigeria fully explores its solid mineral resources and contributes significantly to the country’s GDP.
The GeoScan GmBH has cutting-edge technology capable of searching mineral deposits up to 10,000 meters below the surface, it asserted, adding that the technique is 80% less expensive than conventional exploration processes and three times faster at discovering subsurface deposits.
The workshop, anchored by Neil Pendock, a renowned image processing specialist, stated that the training would provide participants with knowledge of remote sensing technology, which is a cost-saving measure used by some of the world’s most well-known mining nations, including Australia, Canada, and South Africa.
Pendock stated that the training would result in the provision of high-quality geoscience data, which is required to make Nigeria a global mining investment destination while also saving exploration costs.
He added, “Remote Sensing Imagery would also save time compared with the length of time needed when regular exploration methods are used and will place Nigeria at great advantage as it will save the country huge costs in mineral exploration.”
Pendock further said that Remote Sensing Imagery is a more efficient technique of mineral exploration that can be utilized to handle Nigeria’s illegal mining concerns and that it could remotely pick activity photographs via satellite.
