The Ministry of Mines of Ethiopia and SGS, a world leading verification, testing and certification company, has signed an agreement to build a modern mining geochemistry laboratory with a cost of 50 million USD in Addis Ababa.
Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Takele Uma and Managing Director of SGS, Ziyad Oti signed the agreement on the sideline of the International Mining and Technology Expo (MINTEX) that kicked off on Thursday at the Millennium Hall, Addis Ababa.
Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Takele Uma said during the occasion that the 50 million USD laboratory will play a vital role for the development of the mining sector in Ethiopia.
According to him, up until now, several companies, especially those in the mining sector, used to send their mineral samples abroad to get testing, verification and certification to verify the quality of their samples.
When operational, in just a year’s time, hopefully before the next MINTEX exhibition, SGS’s laboratory will enable mining companies that operate in Ethiopia and even Africa to get testing, verification and certification inside the country, he said.
SGS Managing Director, Ziyad Oti said “We will immediately start to work the feasibility studies and the details needed,”
The company will exert efforts to make the facilities ready for service as per the agreed date, he added.
Read the original article on Ethiopia news agency