The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite has inaugurated two special-purpose aircrafts for Airborne Geophysical Survey of Nigeria.
Speaking during the inspection of the Aircrafts at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Thursday in Abuja, the Minister explained that the aircrafts would be used for aerial survey and detection of accurate data of solid mineral resources in nineteen states of the country.
He said the aircrafts have equipment in them that monitor certain parameters on the ground in order to acquire data of minerals resources, adding that this is the most modern method of acquiring data in the mining sector.
The Minister also said President Muhammadu Buhari had given approval for the project and that the National Security Adviser (NSA), as well as the Chief of Air Staff to the President had been properly briefed to ensure security and safety of the project. He further stated that the NSA will provide security for the project, while the Chief of Air Staff will assign a pilot and of course they will have to get clearance before they takeoff.
The minister, who explained that the aircrafts will fly at low altitude, said they would capture data that would be trans-loaded to the computer stationed at the office of the World Bank-assisted Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) which is in the Headquarters of the Ministry.
He also disclosed that the Ministry is partnering with the various State Governors of the various states to create awareness to ensure that the people living in these regions are adequately sensitized as the project commences.
Speaking also at the event, the MinDiver consultant, Dr. John Eyre, said the two aircrafts have electronic sensors which will pick up variations, particularly magnetic changes and radio metric changes in the ground, which in a long run, will process the data interpreted from the geological structures in the ground.
