By M.A. Egge

 Hargeisa (THT)-The Minister of Energy and Minerals and his DG yesterday flew out of the country headed for Capetown to attend the 20th international meeting on mining. This is the first time the country goes to such a forum in an official capacity. Hereunder re-produced is an article on same issue we had published in this paper in details.

 Somaliland is now part of  African Mining

Ministerial  Forum

Few Somalilanders, if any, knew of the impact of SL’s attendance of the mining forum in Australia last year.

Perhaps after the attendance of the next week’s major assemble of a conference in mining interests at the International Convention Center at Cape Town for this year’s convention on investing in African Mining Indaba in which the importance and impact of the whole issue would fathom.

It is a great moment for the country as Hon. Hussein Abdi Duale, the Energy and Mineral Minister brushes shoulders with his peers from all our the world rooting for investments in the sector for the country.

The minister who is to form, for the first time ever, part of the African Mining Ministerial Forum in 2014 investing in Africa meet scheduled from 3rd to 6th of February, was invited to the conference by Hon. Susan Shabangu while they were at the last August’s meeting on the same issue in Perth Australia.

This time round he is slated to address as a Keynote speaker on the major opportunities available in the mining industry in SL, a country which is indeed a low risk investment point.

Perhaps the most important thing the minister has to exploit in his shopping for infrastructure is the more than conducive fiscal terms offered by the government in Somaliland.

It is noteworthy to point out that the country has ample reserves of Manganese, Uranium, Copper, Gold, Platinum, Copper, assorted gem stones, gold, large deposits of coal, tin, rare priceless metals etc going by JNA reports and associated reference archives on the potentials of the country’s resources.

Despite the fact all indications to the country’s geological potentials are still virgin, it is a fact that if exploited the results can be mind boggling in favour of Soamaliland.

The incumbency upon the minister is to carry the burden of the task of the disseminating information on wonderful opportunities and resources available in the country; of course by conveying the message to those in the world who matter, from the right podium and at the right time.

The meeting brings together in attendance tuned to the thousands all countries and gigantic multinational bigwigs who deal in the mining industry.