Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, says his  ministry has taken   steps to sanitise the operating environment of mining, adding that ownership of mining titles are being reviewed periodically.

He said in 2023, 1,619 titles were revoked from operators who failed to meet their obligations to government, adding that more than 900 dormant mining licences where revoked recently..

Alake stated these during the Ministerial Sectoral Update on the performance of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the last one year, on Thursday in  Abuja

He said that ministry has formulated policies on local value addition to minerals before its export, to generate revenue, create job opportunities and other multiplier effects to the economy.

He said that the ministry had also reviewed the Community Development Agreement aimed at fostering harmony between mining companies and host communities.

Pix: Aleke

The minister said as part of its efforts to secure the mining environment, the mining Marshal Corp was established comprising of 2,220 personnel, who have been deployed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

 Nigeria was transitioning from a mono-cultural economy under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said that the President prioritized economic diversification in his eight priority areas.

He noted that sectors such as the solid minerals and agriculture were not given the sufficient attention to thrive in other administrations.

“Since May 29 last year, on assumption of our President, there have been a major plan of the renewed hope agenda, which is contingent on the diversification of the economy away from oil,” he said.

He said  global upsurge in energy transition has led to the focus on green energy, which relied on critical minerals that Nigeria possess in commercial quantities.

According to the minister, the critical minerals will provide opportunities for the sector to contribute more to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and develop its local economy.

He said that Nigeria has been showcasing the potential of its minerals, which has been attracting the interest of foreign investors visiting Nigeria to seek more information for business.

Alake added that to ease doing business for investors, the ministry has unveiled the Nigerian Minerals Resource Decision Support System Software.

He explained that the software serves as a one-stop shop for investors seeking geoscience data and other credible information to make informed decisions.

“Any investor wants an efficient data about the type of minerals, the volume of minerals, where they are, the tenure of the longevity of the minerals.

“These are critical information that any investor in the world will want to make an informed judgement,” he said.

He said that part of the strategies to develop the sector included the establishment of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company through public/private partnership.

“This company is to engage in joint venture, partnerships with the big players in the solid minerals sector on behalf of Nigeria.

As a private sector driven corporation that will be structured to have not more than 25 per cent of federal government shares, 25 per cent to the Nigerian public and 50 per cent to the private sector.

“The equity structure is to make it substantially owned and driven by the private sector, so that we leave an enduring structure and legacy for future government.

“Such that no government after us can exert political influence in terms of managerial efficiency and proficiency of running it,” he said.

author: Maureen Ikpeama