The President, Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS), Mr. Alex Nwegbu has called on leaders of African States to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by innovations in geosciences to develop the continent, stating that the continent has enormous resources which if developed, will lead to economic development, noting that Nigeria has taken the lead in the actualisation of the African Mining Vision (AVM).
Nwegbu who is also the Director General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) – organisation that hosted the recently concluded PanAfGeo WP2 training workshop on mineral resources assessment, tasked 22 participants which included participants from nine African countries to deploy their newfound knowledge to the development of the economic resources of their respective countries.
Nwegbu thanked all the participants and the resource persons who shared their knowledge towards realising the African Mining Vision.
“We must gainfully use the knowledge acquired during the course as well as during the field trips, to improve on skills, and we must be able to network among ourselves so as to continue to share knowledge even as we work from our various countries,” he said.
Hosted by NGSA Nigeria, the PanAfGeo WP2 training workshop ended on Friday 17th November 2017. Anchored by EuroSurveys Resource persons and local resources persons drawn from the industry, it successfully delivered one of the key pillars of the African Mining Vision in building capacities in mining related fields.
The highlight of the last day was the presentation of certificates to participants by the President, OAGS, Alex Nwegbu who was assisted by the Director, Economic Geology and Co-Leader, WP2 Course Dr. Abdulrazaq Garba.
Some of the participants discussed how the training would improve their expertise” Mr. Joseph Winston Jackson from Sierra Leone in his remarks said, “The WP2 Course was most useful and very illuminating. It will add value to my professional career and the National Minerals Agency of Sierra Leone. I appreciate PanAfGeo for the skills transfer and the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for their warm hospitality and gestures.”
Also speaking at the closing event, Ruth Tchepgang Kouayep from Cameroun said: “It is a great pleasure for me to partake in this WP2. Within the short period, I learnt about so many concepts. The knowledge I have acquired during these past two weeks on mineral resources assessment both discovered and undiscovered, would enable me improve on my performance at my work place. Thank you to the entire team.”
Kenyan participant, Vincent Osabe Mboga described the course as the best course through which African Countries can meet to share geological information, wealth creation and news of emerging technologies in tandem with global trends. “I enjoyed the field aspects of the course as well,” he said.
A resource person, Mr. Pasi Eilu from Finland, the resource Country for the programme said: “Practically all was well organised. All course participants and the trainers were well taken care of.”
“I appreciate how many man-hours and other resources the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency has deployed before and during course to make it the success it has turned out to be.”
The Co-leader, Dr. Garba said the testimonies of the participants drawn from 19 countries indicate that the objectives of the WP2 were fulfilled especially in the fields of mineral deposits, metallurgy, resource assessment and exploration methods to mention but a few. He further said that he hopes the capacity gained from the programme will be deployed for the benefit of their respective countries and humanity.
