FG Unveils Mineral Exploration Grant To End Raw Minerals Export

[00:00:00]Very much, Mr. And your show >> Finance and data are two major necessities for a successful mineral exploration, and it is for this reason the federal government is again shifting its attention to the solid mineral sector with the launch of the early stage mineral exploration and research grant endowment program in Abuja.

[00:00:23]The program, scheduled to officially kickstart enrollment on July 10th, 2025, is aimed at catalyzing private sector-led investment and providing the necessary funding for explorers, universities, and research institutions to move from promising projects to potential results.

[00:00:43]>> We are in a new era where our mineral wealth in raw form uh will not be exported again. We're decommoditizing Nigeria and hopefully Africa as a whole.

[00:00:56]With the launch of EMERGE, we take another deliberate step towards a sector that explores with confidence, adds value at home, and rewards the nation that owns those resources.

[00:01:08]>> Before officially unveiling the program, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development has said that the initiative aligns with his administration's key priorities of driving value addition and ending the era of raw mineral export.

[00:01:24]>> This EMERGE speaks directly to two of our seven priorities.

[00:01:29]It generates reliable data on our priority minerals that the fourth point on our agenda, seven-point agenda, demands. And it drives the value addition and processing innovation. This government is no longer offering a single door.

[00:01:45]It is offering a full corridor of support from the first geological data idea to the final processed product.

[00:01:55]EMERGE will be very transparent and competitive from beginning to the end.

[00:02:01]Applications will be assessed strictly on merit. Only the strength of your proposal, the solidity of your proposal will earn you the grant.

[00:02:14]>> The initiative, described as a good step in the right direction, is expected to boost Nigeria's solid mineral sector by eliminating decades of untapped mineral resources in the country.

[00:02:27]From the nation's capital, Kumpie Akpolode, Channels Television News.