Mr Musa Sada, Nigeria's minister of mines and steel development, said that federal government would open up to private investors the exploration and exploitation of iron ore resources for the manufacture of steel products.

Mr Sada said that "Our major interest now is steel making and private production of iron ore for steel production."

Noting that government, through the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe, Kogi State, is the largest producer of iron ore in the country, he stressed that government is ready to encourage private investors to explore and exploit iron ore resources for the development of the nation steel sub sector.

He reiterated that for the nation's mining industry to move forward and achieve the desired result, it is necessary to encourage private investors to play their role as operators while the government plays its role as the regulator.

Mr Sada explained that this realization by government led to the enactment of the 2007 Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act for the mining industry to operate in line with international best practices saying that, the issuance of mining titles is based on first come, first served in line with the law.

He, who noted that the nation’s two steel related companies, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and National Iron Ore Mining Company, conceded twice to private investors, were not successful as a result of the breach of agreements, added that government is presently working towards reactivating these two entities which were designed to be two integrated units to work together for the production of iron ore and steel.

Speaking earlier, Mr Shuhei Inoue president & CEO of Sojitz Global Trading Nigeria Limited indicated the interest of his company in the development of the mining and metal resources.

He listed manganese, iron ore, ferroalloys (rare metals), among others, as their interest in the nation’s mineral resources and added that the firm would be glad to get the basic geological data as well as the basic policy about the development of mineral resources in Nigeria.

• [Editor:editor]