Folalumi Alaran in Abuja
The Nigerian Society of Economic Geologists (NSEG) has conferred honorary fellowship on the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Hajiya Fatima Umaru Shinkafi, alongside two other industry figures, citing her role in attracting investment and advancing Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
In a statement signed by Head of the Corporate Communications Department of the SMDF, Idowu Jokpeyibo, the award was presented at the opening ceremony of NSEG’s 5th Annual International Conference and Exhibition in Kaduna on Monday.
The conference was themed, “Unlocking the Earth’s Mineral Potential: Innovation and Discovery for Future Resources.”
The president of NSEG, Prof. Samuel Olobaniyi, said Shinkafi earned the recognition for her contributions to the development of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
According to the society, Shinkafi repositioned the SMDF as an institutional platform for attracting private capital into Nigeria’s underexplored mining industry, restructuring its investment architecture and establishing a dedicated capital pool for the sector.
It added she had assembled a pipeline of projects reflecting the country’s mineral potential and the Fund’s institutional partnerships.
NSEG also highlighted the SMDF’s partnership with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), through which the two institutions are jointly developing an alumina refinery expected to contribute $1.2 billion annually to Nigeria’s gross domestic product and generate more than $25 billion in value over the project’s lifecycle.
The society also cited the SMDF’s Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment (EMERGE), an initiative designed to provide catalytic funding for early-stage mineral exploration, critical minerals development and research and development.
The programme seeks to address financing gaps that often prevent exploration projects from attracting conventional private investment, helping promising ventures progress towards investment readiness.
NSEG further highlighted the SMDF’s partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria in developing and launching the National Gold Purchase Scheme, which it said was fully operational.
According to the society, the scheme seeks to formalise artisanal and small-scale gold mining, build sovereign reserves in local currency and establish a transparent, compliant pathway for Nigerian gold to access international markets, while improving environmental, social and governance standards across the supply chain.
The other honorary fellowship recipients were Chief Innocent Ezuma, Executive Chairman of Etazuma Mining Industries, and Sir Abu Karofi, an economic geologist and administrator whose public service career in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector spans more than four decades.
Ezuma is an industrialist, mining and energy entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is also recognised as a pioneer of Nigeria’s modern coal industry.
Karofi’s contributions to the profession earned him a fellowship of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS). He was also conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the Federal Government.
In addition to the honorary fellows, NSEG conferred its regular fellowship on seven industry professionals: Kolwole Matthew Ogunbiyi, Director-General of the National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency; Hon. Matthew Oyedokun, Vice-President of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society; Tunde Muritala Arisekola, a geoscientist; Silas Yakubu, Vice-President of Kimberlite Africa Exploration Company of Nigeria; Dr. Edwin Ekwo of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency; Prof. Ezeh Hilary, a fellow of the NMGS; and Prof. Rafiu Babatunde, a COMEG-certified chartered geologist.
Olobaniyi commended the recipients and urged them to sustain their contributions to the development of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.