Nigeria is seeking to strengthen the professional capacity of its mining workforce through an expanded partnership with Murdoch University, Western Australia, with greater emphasis on industry exposure, practical training and the development of commercially viable mining opportunities.
The initiative was discussed when the Nigerian delegation to Africa Down Under (ADU) 2026 held strategic talks with the management of Murdoch University on the next phase of the Nigeria–Australia Resource Industry Collaboration and Capacity Building Programme.
The delegation, led by the representative of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, Director-General of the Mining Cadastre Office, Engr. Obadiah Nkom, met with the Dean, School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Murdoch University, Professor Dee O’Connor, and other university representatives on the sidelines of the conference.
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The discussions focused on building on the achievements of the first two cohorts and designing a third phase that would provide participants with stronger industry exposure, longer practical engagements and specialised training to enable Nigerian mining professionals identify, develop and present commercially viable projects.
The Nigeria–Australia programme, a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and Murdoch University, has trained two cohorts of 11 Nigerian officials each since its launch in June 2025.
It combines technical, policy and leadership training with field visits, industry engagements, job shadowing, workshops and exposure to Australia’s resources governance and mining ecosystem.
Nkom said human-capacity development remained central to the Federal Government’s efforts to reform the mining sector, stressing that sustainable transformation required Nigerians to acquire the expertise needed to absorb and apply international best practices.
He said the vision of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development was not merely to attract foreign capital and technology, but also to equip Nigerians with the capacity to deploy, manage and eventually advance such capabilities.
“Minister Dele Alake’s vision is not simply to attract capital and technology into Nigeria, but to ensure that Nigerians acquire the knowledge and expertise to deploy, manage and ultimately advance those capabilities themselves,” Nkom said.
He described the partnership with Murdoch University as a critical investment in the human resources required to drive the next generation of Nigeria’s mining industry.
Nkom added that the proposed third cohort would introduce stronger industry immersion, internships or job-shadowing opportunities, live industry case studies and training designed to help participants develop investor-ready mining opportunities.
O’Connor reaffirmed Murdoch University’s commitment to the partnership, saying the institution was prepared to support Nigeria’s ambition of developing a responsible, technically capable and globally competitive resources sector.
“We are very pleased to continue this partnership with Nigeria. Our commitment is to deepen the exchange of knowledge and experience between our institutions and to ensure that the programme continues to respond to the real needs of Nigeria’s mining sector and its people,” she said.
The expanded collaboration is expected to strengthen institutional ties between Nigeria and Australian universities, regulators, mining companies and research institutions, while ensuring that international expertise translates into sustainable local capacity.
The proposed third phase will place greater emphasis on practical knowledge transfer, industry immersion and the development of a new generation of Nigerian mining professionals capable of contributing to exploration, project development, investment promotion, environmental, social and governance compliance and downstream value addition.
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