Federal Government to develop gemstone laboratories

The Federal Government, yesterday, said it has approved the development of gemstone laboratories that would enable the country certify the genuineness of precious stones locally.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, stated this during a familiarisation tour of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), in Abuja.
 
He urged the management to focus on developing capacity to attain the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) Certification in order to generate revenue for the nation.

According to Adegbite, the training of competent staff has become necessary, instead of outsourcing and referencing the commodity to other countries of the world.

The Minister further explained that the certification and repair of faulty equipment locally would not only save foreign exchange, but also generate additional revenue for Nigeria.

Also, the Minister of State, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah, tasked the management to make Nigeria the mining hub of Africa, and assured of the Ministry’s to enable them achieve set mandate.

Earlier, the Director-General of NGSA, Dr. Abdulrazak Garba, said the agency is delivering on its mandate of wealth creation as well as producing geological data on precious metals.

He said the generation of the interactive map of gemstones, will offer first-hand information to foreign investors, while reiterating commitment to achieving greater success.