Efforts to mobilise banks to support mining businesses often come to naught, as banks cannot rely on the data provided by mining companies to give their customers loans.
  
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Oladele Alake, disclosed this, yesterday, at the opening of the 59th Annual Internal Conference and Exhibition (AICE) of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), with the theme, ‘Emerging Global Perspectives, Trends and Sustainable Development of Minerals and Energy Resources’ in Jos, Plateau State.
  
It is obvious that unless the stakeholders in the sector come together to build the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) as a data behemoth that commands the respect of investors and financiers, locally and internationally, efforts to transform the sector will not be sustained, he stated.
  
Represented by the Director-General of Nigeria Mining Cadastre, Simon Nkom, the minister tasked the engineers and geologists to always send their new findings to the NGSA to update its intelligence on rocks.
  
According to him, rock formation is a dynamic process that occurs slowly based on various factors, internal and external.He said: “Every cut into the ground is an opportunity to learn about the geological and hydrological events taking place. Each time you keep this intelligence to yourself, you are undermining our collective repository of data. Many investors, who approach the NGSA, do so in the conviction that they will get the most up-to-date information on the area their licence covers. But they are disappointed when the data they have paid for is barely enough to make critical investment decisions.
  
“Many of them have to fly to foreign exploration companies to do more exploration before they are satisfied. Meanwhile, your members keep their data in silos, out of what would seem a selfish interest to speculate with the data, then turn it over to where it can collectively help our wealth,” he said.
  
Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State said most of the minerals in the country were yet to be fully tapped for their contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and tasked all stakeholders in the sector to critically look into the potentiality of the sector.
  
The governor, who said the sector is not properly regulated, added that the sector, through illegal mining, witnessed a lot of criminality, adding that most of the activities were shrouded in secrecy.