A delegation led by the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency, Dr Umar Albarka Hassan has recently paid a visit to the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello in a bid to discuss the planned Airborne Geophysical Survey exercise initiated by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in the country.
The exercise, funded under the World Bank-assisted Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) project, is set out to carry out airborne geophysical survey in 112 local government areas in 18 states in the country, including Niger State.
The sensitization team leader, Dr Umar Hassan noted that the team was in Niger to intimate the governor and sensitize the people on the process of AGS and how it will boost investor confidence on the solid mineral potentials in the state in particular, and Nigeria as a whole.
He said, "an aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art devices will be used to measure minor variations in the earth's magnetic fields and gamma radiations in the soil. The aircraft will fly at 50 meters above the ground with a line spacing of 100 meters".
Dr Hassan added that the exercise is safe and serves as a passive technique that does not send any signals or sound waves into the ground. He further disclosed that the survey will commence on 22nd of July 2021 and will run for about two months in the state. LGAs selected for the survey in the state include Lavun, Gbako, Mokwa, Mashegu, Lapai, Bosso and Edati. Others are Katcha and Agaie.
The team leader added that the sensitization is even more necessary considering the security challenges in the country, as the loud noise from the air craft during the exercise should not be misunderstood or allowed to cause panic. He requested that relevant ministries, agencies, LGAs and traditional rulers be directed to mobilize and sensitize the people.
Reacting, Governor Bello assured of his cooperation and support to ensure that such a laudable project achieves the needed success. While commending the Ministry for selecting about 10 LGAs in the state for the exercise, he urged the team to also consider other areas like Tafa, Mariga, Magama, Rijau, Munya and Shiroro not covered in the planned survey.
