SMDF, ORDF, partner to develop mining finance framework

The Solid Minerals Development Fund says it is partnering with the Ores Reserves Development Forum to develop a mining finance framework aimed at addressing the difficulties miners experience  in accessing finance for their operations. The executive director of SMDF, Fatima Shinkafi, disclosed this in a statement by her technical adviser, Abdulmajeed Amussah, on Monday in Abuja. Mr Amussah said financing has been identified as one of the major challenges affecting the sector due to limited investor confidence in geological and project data, which the SMDF and ORDF were committed to addressing. He said that, as part of efforts to tackle the challenge, it was partnering with the ORDF to organise a workshop for stakeholders, including miners, financial institutions, government agencies, regulators, and industry experts, on ’Building a Sustainable Mining Finance System for Nigeria’.

The ORDF is an outcome of the Geological Society of Nigeria Roundtable 2.0 on Financing Nigerian Mining Assets. The roundtable  brought together technical, regulatory, financial, trade, and policy experts to critically examine barriers to unlocking the potential of Nigeria’s solid minerals endowment. He said the move was aimed at strengthening the link between geological reporting, project transparency, and access to finance. In his remarks, the chairman of ORDF, Uba Malami, acknowledged the mining sector’s potential to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economic growth but noted that concerted efforts are required to harness its full potential. “However, many promising projects fail to attract funding because investors do not fully trust available data. This workshop will enable stakeholders to work together to build a transparent and reliable system that supports investment and long-term sector development,” he said.

According to Amussah, at the end of the workshop, a draft Mining Finance Framework will be developed, reviewed and refined by a technical working group representing key institutions across the mining value chain. He said the expected outcomes of the workshop include identifying the key constraints limiting mining finance in Nigeria and enhancing understanding of the role of financial institutions in the sector. He added that the workshop would provide recommendations for incentives to mitigate risks for miners and investors, including agreeing on standard reporting systems and frameworks to guide the next steps. The workshop, scheduled for December 9, would cover topics such as the role of mining finance in Nigeria’s industrial development, the fundamental standards for reporting mineral resources and financing pathways from exploration to production. It would also explore policy, regulatory, and market incentives for mining, while focusing on the design of a practical and efficient mining finance system.

The participants would be guided on the data and reporting requirements needed to access finance, exposed to due diligence expectations as their projects progress, and strengthened in transparency, risk mitigation, and investment readiness across the mining finance ecosystem. The SMDF had partnered with the Nigerian Association of Securities Dealers on the OTC Securities Exchange earlier in the year to organise Webinars aimed at deepening capital market participation in Nigeria’s mining sector