. . . as trainees part with module worth £40,000
The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) saved no less than forty thousand Pounds (equivalent to twenty-two million, six hundred and eighty thousand Naira) through cost-cutting strategies as it continued the capacity building of its drilling staff drawn from its headquarter and zonal offices across the country, Managing Director, Earthvalues Engineering, Engr Mercy Emechete has said.
Emechete, who made the observation during a recent three-day professional development training program on “Drilling in Basement Terrain,” organized by the NGSA in collaboration with Earthvalues Engineering Company, in Nasarawa state, said the success of the training shows that it is possible to build the capacity of staff through cost-cutting strategies especially in view of the paucity of funds, stating that the Agency is able to get highly qualified drilling professionals with over four decades experience to share their experiences and proffer solutions to challenges associated with drilling in basement terrain.
At the NGSA, training of staff is a continuous exercise.
Engr Emechete explained that one British Pound is currently equivalent to over five hundred and sixty seven Naira, and this is certainly very costly for government especially when you have a number of staff to train in an economy that has not fully bounced back from Covid-19 challenges.
“If the ten trainees are to go be trained overseas, the government would spend over £4000.00 Pounds per person, and that would be tough to afford in times like this when funds are not easy to come by.”
“Fortunately, the mining industry in Nigeria has highly qualified personnel who are patriotic and willing to share their decades of experience in the industry, and we were able to get some of them to feature at the training,” she added.
Discussing the credentials of one of the resource fellows, she said: “For over four decades, Engr Ben Nwude served Nigeria meritoriously through his professional contribution to the mining industry,” noting that Nwude earned Fellow of four professional associations, namely, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers (NMSE), Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), and the Automotive Engineers Institute (AutoEI).
“In conjunction with the NGSA, Earthvalues Engineering sought for experts who have the knowledge and experience which trainees need,” she added.
While congratulating the trainees, Emechete encouraged leaders in the public and private sectors of the economy not to jettison training of staff as a result of paucity of funds, stating that they can devise cost-cutting strategies by embracing patriotic Nigerian professionals who have served with distinction and who are willingly to share their professional knowledge and experience.
Engr Emechete said the workshop on “Drilling in Basement Terrain” would enable participants to understand the economic potentials of an area by arriving at a reliable Resource Reserve Estimate, which gives premium focus to core drilling as a necessary and fundamental exercise.
She said the training is designed to equip participants with recent developments in core drilling in a rugged terrain, adding that the NGSA considers it imperative to convene the training at a time when the federal government is strengthening the mining sector in order to boost revenue from the sector.
She explained that the training will have multiplier effect on the economy through job creation and revenue generation, adding that drilling in basement terrain is an important aspect of exploration that will add value to the efforts of the NGSA to generate additional reliable geosciences data needed for prospective investors to make investment decisions.
Director, Regional Geology, NGSA, Mr Olapde Davis said the training was organized to strengthen professional capacity of geologists and drillers who will work alongside other professionals to ensure that the agency fulfills its mandate of generating reliable geosciences data. “The Federal Government is focusing on diversifying the economy, the NGSA has been working to evaluate minerals in order to provide reserve estimates,” he said. He enjoined participants to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the training.
In his vote of thanks, Engr Titilope Adeyemo who spoke on behalf of Earthvalues Engineering Resources, commended the resource persons for the resourcefulness of their presentations. He thanked the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for closing the gap that has been setting a lot of wrong records in the mineral industry for a long time.
While saying that drilling is key to reliable reserve estimate, Adeyemo explained that “it is unreasonable to say that you arrived at reserve estimates without drilling,” and commended the NGSA for training technical staff on drilling in basement terrain in order to equip them with knowledge needed for optimal generation of geosciences data in line with the mandate of the Agency.
According to Adeyemo, “The current management of the NGSA has been able to set the record straight by ensuring that things are done properly,” adding that “the agency has closed decade-long gaps that existed in the industry.”
