SMDF partners ORDF to develop mining finance framework, tackle persistent funding challenges

The Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) has partnered with the Ores Reserves Development Forum (ORDF) in a bid to develop a mining finance framework aimed at tackling persistent funding challenges.

In a statement on Monday, November 24, Fatima Shinkafi, executive director of SMDF, said access to finance remains a major obstacle in the sector, largely due to limited investor confidence in geological and project data.

ORDF emerged from a series of mining finance roundtable discussions hosted by the geological society of Nigeria and is focused on tackling the barriers miners encounter when seeking capital.

Shinkafi, represented by her technical adviser, Abdulmajeed Amussah, said both organisations are collaborating to organise a stakeholder workshop that will bring together miners, financial institutions, and industry experts to confront the issues.

The workshop, themed ‘Building a Sustainable Mining Finance System for Nigeria’, is scheduled for December 9.

Shinkafi said the session will produce a draft mining finance framework, which will be reviewed and refined by a technical working group composed of representatives from across the mining value chain.

The workshop is also expected to identify the key constraints limiting mining finance in Nigeria and deepen understanding of the role financial institutions play in the industry.

She added that the event will recommend incentives to de-risk investments for miners and financiers, including the adoption of standardised reporting systems and frameworks to guide future actions.

Uba Malami, chairman of ORDF, said Nigeria’s mining sector has strong potential to contribute significantly to economic growth, but stressed that realising this potential requires coordinated effort.

He noted that many viable projects fail to secure funding because investors do not have full confidence in the available data.

Malami said the workshop will help stakeholders build a transparent and trustworthy system that encourages investment and supports the long-term development of the sector.