South Sudan joins Nigeria in solid minerals investment drive

South Sudan joins Nigeria in solid minerals investment drive

Story from ABAH ADAH, Abuja

The Republic of South Sudan has joined Nigeria in the quest to attract massive investments in the solid minerals sector for rapid economic growth.

According to the South Sudanese Minister of Mining, Engineer Martin Gama Abucha, while making his presentation at the just concluded three-day maiden edition of Nigeria-Africa Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (NAFNEIS) hosted by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, his country is equally rich in solid minerals and has in place enabling legislation and regulations for investors to make an optimum return on investment just like Nigeria.  

He said as a young nation, they learn a lot from Nigeria and have developed very investment-friendly laws that make it easy for investors to invest and make a profit, adding that the country is now better off and moving forward after the civil war experienced in the past.

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In his presentation earlier, the Under Secretary in the South Sudanese Ministry of Mining, Dr Andy Ezbon Adde, said there are many investment opportunities in mining precious and base metals as well as in cement production from high-quality marble deposits in the country.

On why South Sudan, like Nigeria, should also be seen as a mining investment destination, Adde said the geological aspects in South Sudan are globally conducive for economic mineralisation such that planned investments are most likely to succeed. 

He said the presence of vast deposits of gold, copper, marble, iron ore, bauxite and many others attests to the fact that investors who come to mine there would be successful.

According to him, “Mining laws and regulations in South Sudan are at par with international best practices and are acceptable to all registered mining investors, even as its a member of regional and continental mining bodies, so it will always treat mining investors fairly well”. 

He said South Sudan, like Nigeria, uses a cadastre system in allocating and controlling concessions as well as all mining affairs, adding that over 100 concessions are already granted to investors from five of the seven continents of the world.

The presentation was underscored by the Permanent Secretary, Nigeria’s Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, in her closing remark at the end of the maiden energy summit when she reminded the African Ministers and government officials of the abundance of natural resources and the need for the industry to act timely in developing them towards meeting global needs, especially in this critical age of energy transition.

“As we have heard over the past three days, natural resources are abundant around to meet global needs for generations to come, and the industry must ensure, at all times, that the world’s natural resources reserves are accessed, processed, and distributed to consumers in a timely, orderly, and environmentally-friendly manner,” she noted.