Kaduna seeks Australian partnership in mining sector

The Kaduna State government has indicated interest to partner with the Australian government in the mining sector with a target of exploiting its rich potentials in solid mineral deposits in the state. Kaduna governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, expressed the indication yesterday when he received the Australian high commissioner to Nigeria, Jon Richardson, in his office saying his administration has already concluded plans to diversify its revenue base through the mining sector. He said: 'We have gone far in our efforts at analysing the minerals to know those that are in commercial quantities before we can partner with others in mining. Kaduna is endowed with solid mineral resources. Our challenge is how to tap and take advantage of the sector.' Governor Yero asked for the assistance of Australia which is a global leader in mining to assist the state through encouraging investors to take advantage of the numerous solid minerals available in the state. 'We will soon visit your office so that we can work out a way of getting partners to develop our mining sector, since we are going to have a limited liability company,' he said. In the same vein, the governor has requested for partnership with Australia in the area of providing scholarship for graduate and post-graduate programmes in Australian universities.