Federal Government Unveils Instrument For Analytical Research In Mining Industry

The Federal Government has unveiled an instrument for analytical research and technological breakthrough in the nation’s mining industry.

Unveiling the instrument in Abuja, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake said the move would enhance development in the sector.

The Minister represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mary Ogbe explained that both international and domestic inventors would find the instrument useful.

According to the Minister, “The Ministry is commissioning yet another very critical facility, the ICP-MS Laboratory. An ICP-MS instrument is a type of analytical device used to measure the elemental composition of a sample by ionising the elements within it using a high-temperature plasma, typically generated by argon gas,”

“ICP-MS has the ability to identify and quantify elements in a sample with high sensitivity, it can detect and measure trace elements at very low concentrations in liquid samples across various fields,”

“As I stand before you here, feeling delighted to commission such a highly needed analytical laboratory, the first of its kind in the country, i am also convinced that the investment community—both international and local—as well as our university researchers in the mineral sector will find this laboratory useful and timely.’‘

“Other users and beneficiaries of this laboratory, such as those in the material science field, environmental monitoring, clinical research, food analysis, forensic experts, as well as the Ministry of Defence, will also find this lab very helpful in carrying out their various activities,”

Earlier, the Director General of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency, Professor Olusegun Ige said the unveiling of the instrument would also offer the country huge savings in foreign exchange from the analysis of minerals and rock materials locally.

According to Professor Ige, the Agency is strengthening focus and resolve to generate qualitative data that will meet the requirements of all the relevant stakeholders in the sector.

In his goodwill message, the President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Dele Ayanleke, who commended the NGSA for this landmark achievement, noted that the instrument would improve the nation’s image in the international community and conserve a significant amount of foreign exchange for the country