Nigeria Mining Week launches women in extractive industries forum
...we will have projects being pitched to an audience of investors;
VUKA Group, the organiser of the Nigeria Mining Week, says it will introduce new features to the conference, including the Women in Extractive Industries Forum, to promote inclusivity and gender parity.
The Event Director, Mining at VUKA, Mr Samukelo Madlabane, told newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja that women would be engaging with the industry at the forum.
Supreme news reports that the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, on August 21 inaugurated the 10th edition of the Nigeria Mining Week with the theme `Mining from Progress to Global Relevance`.
The conference, scheduled to hold from Oct. 15 to Oct. 17, is organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the VUKA Group.
Madlabane explained that the forum would not be just women speaking among themselves but engaging with industry players, saying, “There’s no point in women speaking to themselves, it’s almost like speaking in an echo chamber.”
He said that over the years, the event had transformed from a basic conference and exhibition into a multifaceted platform with a more focused and sophisticated format, evident in the addition of dedicated fora.
He listed the fora to include the Nigeria Steel Forum, the Gemstone Forum, and the Quarrying Forum, alongside the Deal Room, which moves the event beyond networking into tangible business transactions.
“So, the idea with the Deal Room that we are doing in conjunction with the Kaduna Mining Development Company, is that we will have projects being pitched to an audience of investors.
“This is with the view that you want to start having conversations happening around how to direct funding to the mining sector,” he explained.
He stated that the conference served as a platform to attract investors, share expertise and showcase mineral resources at state and local levels.
“ It is also an avenue to learn best practices by gaining knowledge from global experts on sustainable mining and resource governance, “ he said.
Supreme news reports that the solid minerals minister said the conference would showcase the sector’s potential to local and international stakeholders, highlighting Nigeria’s over 44 distinct minerals as a prime investment destination in Africa.