Aside petroleum sector, the National President of Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers (NSME), Engineer Benjamin Nwude, has said that mining sector is one of the sectors that can support increase in government revenue.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin at the weekend, on preparation for the annual conference of the society, scheduled to hold in November, Engineer Nwude called for collaborative efforts of state governments in the exploration of mineral resources available in many parts of the country to increase government revenue for project execution and development.

The NSME president, who said that mining sector is one of the largest employers of labour, added that mining exploration would rejuvenate many ailing industries that are supported by the sector, like the steel rolling mills among others, as soon as exploration commences in the country.

Engineer Nwude, who said that mining sector can serve as complementary revenue generation sector to crude oil, added that such generated revenue would increase government purse for development.

He also said that state governments could re-organise operations of illegal miners to their benefit and also use the reorganisation to provide job for the teeming youth population in the country.

He explained that the Federal Government has already opened up a desk at the Federal Ministry of Mines, known as the Artisans Section, to train the illegal miners and form them into cooperative groups to streamline their activities in such a way that it would not pose danger to them or their immediate environment.

He also urged the state government to try as much as they could to make an inventory of the mineral resources in their domain so that a proper numbering of those minerals will be done in each state to know the quantity.

Engineer Nwude said most of the idle hands in the states would be actively engaged for productive ventures if those inventory were done.
He also commended the creation of Nigeria Institute of Mines and Geo-sciences, adding that the measure by the Federal Government would ensure that mining is put in the right pedestal.

He called on government at all level to site infrastructure in the various locations of their resources in order to attract investors to the country.