The Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Hajiya Fatima Umaru-Shinkafi, has been conferred with the Honorary Fellowship of the Nigerian Society of Economic Geologists (NSEG).
Shinkafi, who is also the Managing Director of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI), was conferred with the honor alongside Chief Innocent Ezuma and Sir Abu Karofi at the 5th Annual International Conference and Exhibitions (AICE) of the Nigerian Society of Economic Geologists (NSEC) in Kaduna on Monday.
President of the Society, Prof. Samuel Olobaniyi said Shinkafi earned the honor for the crucial role she played in the development of the Nigeria Solid Minerals sector.
According to the Society, “Shinkafi has repositioned the Solid Minerals Development Fund as a credible institutional platform for catalyzing private capital in one of Africa’s most underexplored mining jurisdictions.
After assuming leadership at the Fund, Shinkafi restructured the investment architecture of the SMDF and established its first dedicated capital pool for the mining sector.
“She assembled a project pipeline that reflects both the scale of Nigeria’s mineral endowment and the quality of the SMDF’s institutional partnerships,” the NSEG said at the event.
Discussing a signature achievement of her ongoing tenure as Executive Secretary of the SMDF, the Society noted that the Fund’s partnership with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) which has produced the first-ever project development facility in the country’s mining sector is worthy of note.
“Together, the two institutions are jointly developing an alumina refinery that will be Nigeria’s most significant private sector mining investment to date, projected to generate US$1.2bn in annual GDP contributions and over US$25bn in value across the project lifecycle.
“The SMDF is also developing the Exploration and Research Development Grants Programme to attract junior companies and de-risk early stage capital deployment into the Nigerian upstream mining sector,” the Society added.
Her SMDF-EMMERGE Initiative has been hailed as a game changer for the minerals sector.
Under her leadership, the SMDF partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria to develop and launch the National Gold Purchase Scheme, which is now fully operational. The Society noted that the programme formalizes artisanal and small scale gold mining, builds sovereign reserves in local currency, and creates compliant and transparent pathway for Nigerian gold to access international markets, raising ESG standards across the supply chain in process.
It is pertinent to note that Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi combines sectoral depth, financial structuring capability, and sophisticated stakeholder management.
For institutional partners and capital allocators seeking credible exposure to Nigeria’s solid minerals opportunity, the SMDF under her leadership is the preferred entry point.
Shinkafi was represented at the ceremony by Head of Special Projects, SMDF, Martina Ananaba.
Dr. Innocent Ezuma is a Nigerian industrialist, energy and mining entrepreneur, and a philanthropist.
Ezuma is the Executive Chairman of Etazuma Mining Industries and other companies. He is the pioneer of Nigeria’s modern coal industry.
Sir Abu Karofi is a distinguished economic geologist and administrator with a meritorious public service career spanning over four decades in the Nigerian solid minerals sector.
The Society said Karofi’s contributions to the profession over the years earned him the Fellowship of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS). He was also conferred with the prestigious National Honor of the Order of The Niger (OON) by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Society bestowed its regular fellowship on seven other industry experts, namely Kolwole Matthew Ogunbiyi, Director General, National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency; Hon. Matthew Oyedokun, Vice President of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society; Tunde Muritala Arisekola, an accomplished geoscientist; Mr. Silas Yakubu, Vice President of kimberlite Africa exploration Company of Nigeria; Dr. Edwin Ekwo, a geologist of note with the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency; Prof Ezeh Hilary who is a Fellow of the NMGS; and Prof Rafiu Babatude a COMEG certified chartered geologist.
The President of the Society commended the awardees and urged them to do more in the sector.
