Christopher Higgins, International Business Manager at Minelab Metal Detectors was recently interviewed for the Nigerian Mining Week site. Minelab will a bronze sponsor at the upcoming Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja from 16-19 October.
Extract from http://www.nigeriaminingweek.com/
Let’s start with some background on Minelab and your work in the mining sector?
Minelab MEA General Trading LLC, is a Dubai based company that distributes handheld metal detectors to Artisanal Gold Mining Communities throughout Africa & the Middle East for our parent company, Minelab Electronics Pty Limited (Minelab). Minelab is an Australian company that is recognised as the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of metal detectors for Artisanal Gold Mining.
Minelab has been supplying metal detectors in Africa for over 15 years and we have a close understanding of the needs of Artisanal Gold Mining Communities throughout the continent. We have built a strong group of Distributors and Dealers, who support our End Users with training and after sales support. Our own Business Development Managers and Technical Staff travel regularly to the region to support our Distributors and Dealers, and build their capacity to support our End Users.
Metal detectors enable Artisanal Miners to find gold more effectively and efficiently, while reducing the impact of mining activities on the environment, as there is no requirement for the use of harmful substances such as cyanide and mercury. Mining with detectors is generally done on the surface, which means that there is less impact through excavation and less risk to the miners themselves. We witness the positive impact of our products on the livelihoods and wellbeing of Artisanal Mining Communities in most of the locations that we operate in.
Any projects that you are involved in in Nigeria that you are particularly excited about at the moment?
We recently learned about the World Bank financed project to support Nigeria’s mining sector and we are interested to explore how we might get productively involved. We note that a large component of the project will comprise supporting Artisanal Mining Communities by increasing their access to technology. This is an area in which we believe we can play a meaningful role.
Read full article here.
