The President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has realised ₦6,957,826,200 from mining fees and registered 118 new private mineral buying centres in the first quarter of this year.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake disclosed this at the 2nd Businessday Annual Mining Conference in Abuja.
A statement by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media Segun Tomori in Abuja over the weekend quoted Alake to have said that the revenues reflected the outcome of the Ministry’s efforts to raise awareness and attract investors.
According to the Minister, the revenues are from payment of various fees, including annual service fees, application processing fees, and renewal of titles.
He said mining fees collected by licensing parastatal – the Mining Cadastral Office (MCO), were from 955 applications for title grants. Six hundred and fifty-one were for exploration, 270 for small-scale mining, 49 for Quarrying, and 24 for reconnaissance permits.
The Minister added of the approved 867 applications, 512 were for exploration licenses, 295 small-scale mining leases, 60 Quarry leases, and five mining leases.
MCO has also stepped up conflict resolution to reduce petitions arising from overlap and litigation over ownership.
Alake disclosed that his Ministry has recorded a lot of progress in plans to set up the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, as a veritable special-purpose vehicle that will catapult Nigeria into the league of global mining players.
Speaking on the theme, “Building A Resilient Mining Sector,” Alake said the corporation will be globally competitive and rooted in Nigerian expertise and capital.
“We are finalising its structure in partnership with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI). Nigerians will have the opportunity to invest through a public offer, with 25per cent equity reserved for citizens, 25per cent for the government, and 50per cent for the private sector,” the minister stated.
Higlighting the achievements recorded, Alake scored the ministry high on revenue generation, citing how it surpassed the 2024 projected revenue of ₦11 billion by ₦27 billion to N38 billion.
On the impact of international engagements, Alake revealed that the French government has committed to equip the laboratory of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) and train young geologists abroad in modern mining technologies on the heels of the MoU signed by President Bola Tinubu and French President, Emmanuel Macron.
“The Government of Western Australia recently approved the regular training of Nigerian mining professionals, and the first batch of trainees is billed to depart next month. British and Saudi Arabian investors are coming together to invest across the mineral value chain, and just few days ago, we signed an MoU on capacity building in the geology field with South Africa”, Dr Alake added
Citing the impact of his value addition policy, the minister declared that it has enhanced local beneficiation and positioned Nigeria as the undisputable leader of African mining countries.
He said: “Nigeria emerged as the pioneer chairperson of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) based on our advocacy for value addition and opposition to the reckless exportation of raw minerals without processing or refining. One of our goals is to use this position to attract investment to Africa and Nigeria. He stated that this is already yielding fruits as we will commission some Lithium, bauxite, and gold refining plants this quarter,” he stated.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
