1 week ago
25
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Federal Government has unveiled an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) instrument for analytical research and technological breakthroughs in Nigeria’s mining industry.
Unveiling the instrument in Abuja, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, said the move would enhance development in the sector.
The Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mary Ogbe, explained that both domestic and international investors would find the instrument helpful, as it is critical to technological and analytical research.
“The Ministry is commissioning yet another very critical facility, the ICP-MS Laboratory. An ICP-MS instrument is a type of analytical device used to measure the elemental composition of a sample by ionising the elements within it using a high-temperature plasma, typically generated by argon gas,” Dr. Alake stated.
“ICP-MS has the ability to identify and quantify elements in a sample with high sensitivity. It can detect and measure trace elements at very low concentrations in liquid samples across various fields,” the Minister emphasised.
“As I stand before you here, feeling delighted to commission such a highly needed analytical laboratory, the first of its kind in the country, I am also convinced that the investment community—both international and local—as well as our university researchers in the mineral sector will find this laboratory useful and timely.
“Other users and beneficiaries of this laboratory, such as those in the material science field, environmental monitoring, clinical research, food analysis, forensic experts, as well as the Ministry of Defence, will also find this lab very helpful in carrying out their various activities,” Dr. Alake stressed.
Dr. Alake called on all stakeholders to take full advantage of the ICP-MS lab by bringing samples for analysis.
“The Ministry has an ambitious plan to begin the process of comparing results from the NGSA ICP-MS lab with those of other internationally accredited labs, which, upon satisfaction, will commence the full process of having the ICP-MS and other laboratories of NGSA accredited and certified,” he noted.
Earlier, the Director-General of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Professor Olusegun Ige, said the unveiling of the instrument would also offer the country huge savings in foreign exchange by enabling local analysis of minerals and rock materials.
According to Professor Ige, the Agency is strengthening its focus and resolve to generate qualitative data that will meet the requirements of all relevant stakeholders in the sector.
In his goodwill message, the President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Dele Ayanleke, who commended the NGSA for this landmark achievement, stressed that commissioning the instrument would improve the nation’s image in the international community and conserve a significant amount of foreign exchange for the country.
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