By Stella Odueme
The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and Murdoch University, Western Australia, have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening knowledge transfer and professional capacity building in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
The commitment was renewed when the Nigerian delegation to Africa Down Under (ADU) 2026 held strategic discussions with the university’s management on the next phase of the Nigeria–Australia Resource Industry Collaboration and Capacity Building Programme.
The delegation, led by the representative of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake, and the Director-General of the Mining Cadastre Office, Engr. Obadiah Nkom, met with Professor Dee O’Connor, Dean, School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, and other university representatives on the sidelines of the conference.
According to a statement by Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Lara Owoeye-Wise, on Sunday, the engagement focused on consolidating the achievements of the programme’s first two cohorts and developing an expanded third phase featuring stronger industry exposure, longer practical engagement and enhanced training for Nigerian mining professionals.
The programme, a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and Murdoch University, has trained two cohorts of 11 Nigerian officials each since its launch in June 2025.
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It combines technical, policy and leadership training with field visits, industry engagement, job shadowing, workshops and exposure to Australia’s resources governance and mining ecosystem.
Nkom said knowledge transfer remained central to Nigeria’s mining reform agenda, stressing that sustainable transformation of the sector required the country to develop the human capacity to absorb and apply global best practices.
He said the vision of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake, went beyond attracting capital and technology into Nigeria, as it also focused on equipping Nigerians with the expertise to deploy, manage and advance those capabilities.
“Minister Dele Alake’s vision is not simply to attract capital and technology into Nigeria, but to ensure that Nigerians acquire the knowledge and expertise to deploy, manage and ultimately advance those capabilities themselves,” Nkom said.
He described the partnership with Murdoch University as a critical investment in the people who would drive the next generation of Nigeria’s mining industry.
According to him, the proposed third cohort would build on the experience of the first two intakes through stronger industry immersion, internships or job-shadowing opportunities, live industry case studies and training aimed at developing investor-ready mining opportunities.
Professor Dee O’Connor reaffirmed Murdoch University’s commitment to the partnership, saying the institution was ready to continue supporting Nigeria’s ambition to build a responsible, technically capable and globally competitive resources sector.
“We are very pleased to continue this partnership with Nigeria. Our commitment is to deepen the exchange of knowledge and experience between our institutions and to ensure that the programme continues to respond to the real needs of Nigeria’s mining sector and its people,” she said.
The ministry said the partnership aligned with its broader objective of building a knowledge-driven mining sector capable of attracting investment, promoting responsible resource development, strengthening local expertise and driving value addition.
It added that the collaboration would provide a platform for sustained institutional cooperation with Australian universities, regulators, industry and research institutions.
The proposed third phase is expected to move beyond conventional professional training towards practical knowledge transfer, industry immersion and the development of a new cadre of Nigerian mining professionals equipped to contribute to exploration, project development, investment promotion, environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance and downstream value addition.