Communique Issued at the 18^th Annual General Meeting and International Conference of the Nigerian Society Of Mining Engineers Held at the Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nasarawa State, 22^nd-26^th October, 2018

1. The 18^th Annual General Meeting & International Conference of the Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers was held at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi from 22^nd to 26^th October 2018 on the theme Harnessing Mineral Wealth for National Sustainable Development and Diversification.
2. The theme of the Conference was exhaustively discussed at a Pre-Panel Discussion Session attended by erudite scholars, mining and mineral processing engineers as well as captains of mining companies.
3. The Chief Host, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Alh. Umaru Tanko Almakura, CON represented by Dr. Abdulkarim Kana, the Honourable Commissioner of Justice, Nasarawa State, the Honourable Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon. Abukakar Bawa Bwari, represented by Engr. U. A. Hassan FNSME, DG/CEO National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency, Kaduna and Vice – Chancellor Prof. Suleiman Bala Mohammed graced the opening ceremony. The Honourable Minister delivered the Keynote Address and declared the Conference open.
4. Highlights of observations and recommendations emanating from the 18^th AGM and International Conference of the NSME comprise:
   1. Nigeria is endowed with different mineral deposits spread across all the local governments of the Federation but have remained largely underdeveloped due to Nigeria’s past preoccupation with the oil industry.
   2. The measure of a country’s development and civilization depend largely on the utilization of its minerals in different fields and applications, hence harnessing mineral resources optimally is a potential which has the capacity to contribute to local and foreign exchange earnings as well as direct investment thereby boosting the country’s economy.

• The Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers commends the Federal Government on the renewed attention and commitments to the mining sector with policies and programmes such as Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) and the recently launched Mineral Road Map geared towards harnessing the abundant mineral resources in the country. The Society encourages the Federal Government to fully implement these reforms to achieve the desired structural changes

1. Provision of requisite infrastructures such as power, roads, gas, communication, rail services and accessible financing windows for investments in the mineral industry is sine qua non to effectively harness the abundant mineral resources of the country
2. Government should adequately fund training, research and regulatory agencies to enable optimal performance of statutory functions
3. Government should adequately recognize and encourage artisanal and small scale mining in view of their capacities to earn foreign exchange, significantly contribute to gross national product, improve rural livelihood with great potential for poverty alleviation and as tools for sustainable development

• Government should step up law enforcements through effective regulations and policing of all aspects of exploration, mining, processing, refining and marketing of minerals
• Government is encouraged to provide infrastructure and human capital for the effective exploration and exploitation of Nigeria’s minerals resources and by extension enable value-addition to derive maximum benefits. Hence Federal Government should as a matter of urgency focus on getting enterprises that are meant to provide direct value-addition to mineral resources, such as Ajaokuta and Delta Steel Plants, National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe, amongst others, fully running

1. Government should support and embark on provision of reliable mineral data base to build potential investors confidence