Solid Minerals Minister Dele Alake says the ministry will add at least 50% to the Nigerian economy, just as he said the Ministry is prepared to attract foreign direct investment to the country.
The minister, speaking at the launch of the “Solid Minerals Transformation Agenda for International Competitiveness and Domestic Prosperity” in Abuja on Sunday, said the ministry will focus on a seven-point agenda, including the creation of Nigeria’s Solid Agenda. Minerals Corporation, joint ventures with mining multinationals, Big Data on seven specific priority minerals and their deposits, 30-day grace for illegal miners to join artisanal cooperatives, Mine Surveillance Task Force and Mining Police, comprehensive review of all mining licenses and the creation of six (6) Mineral Processing Centers to focus on Value Added products.
“President Bola Tinubu has taken strong and courageous decisions that have restored the logic of the Nigerian economy. The elimination of subsidies and the adoption of a single exchange rate are among the fundamental transformative policies of this administration. This radical approach to making the economy resilient in the long term is the guiding principle of the Ministry’s management.
“The Ministry has to take the bull by the horns if the country wants to harvest the trillions of dollars in minerals underground throughout the country. To achieve this laudable goal, there has to be a paradigm shift in strategy, repositioning the sector in terms of human and capital factors that can drive its transformation,” said the minister.
On the creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, Mr Alake said: “Mining is big business. Nigeria must assert its presence in this environment by replicating its strategic positioning in the oil sector through the creation of a corporate entity to operate in this field. Accordingly, the Ministry will work to incorporate the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.”
According to the Minister, the corporate entity will have subsidiaries that will operate in seven priority areas that require immediate intervention and attention, including gold, coal, limestone, bitumen, lead, iron ore and barite. Existing companies, such as the National Iron Ore Company, and ongoing agreements, such as the Bitumen Concession Program, will be reviewed to adapt them to this new system.
“The proposed corporation will seek and secure investment partnership agreements with large multinational companies from around the world to take advantage of the attractive investment-friendly regime operating in the country to secure massive foreign direct investment for the mining sector. It is expected that the positioning of the national corporation as guarantor and protector of the association agreements assures our seriousness and fidelity to the partners.
“Similarly, Solid Minerals Corporation will provide strong support to Nigerian entrepreneurs seeking funding abroad and help authenticate their investment proposals to accelerate their partners’ commitment to invest. At the national level, Solid Minerals Corporation will engage the Nigerian financial system, which has shown a palpable reluctance to support mineral prospecting and mining due to the long-term gestation of value creation through the development of a Fund to facilitate investments in mining at interest rates that will be mutually beneficial. “We agree,” said the minister.
The minister said the country will take advantage of the abundant precious minerals, including gold, manganese, bitumen, lithium, iron ore, lead, zinc, limestone, uranium, columbite, barite, kaolin, precious stones, coal, topaz and copper, which They are in massive proportions. to attract investors to the country.
Nigeria has estimated reserves that include gold (1 million ounces), Limestone (568 metric tons), lead/zinc (baryte (15 million metric tons), bitumen (1.1 billion naira barrels), iron ore (3 billion metric tons) and coal (396 million naira). How a sector with more than 2 million operators came to be, including more than 633 small-scale companies and 251,500 registered miners.
The minister also said that the ministry is introducing a security tax and mine policy that will help the country combat illegal mining and smuggling.
“For the last time, let me state that the Ministry gives these people 30 days to join a miners’ cooperative or find another vocation. When the term expires, the full weight of the law will fall on whoever is seen in a mining site without a determinable status. This message will be interpreted into Nigerian languages and broadcast over the radio to ensure that no one ignores this directive.
“As of October, a rejuvenated security regime will come into force in the solid minerals sector. This will include the Mining Police, drawn from the Nigerian Police and specially trained to detect illegal mining and arrest offenders. The new Mining Surveillance Security Working Group will coordinate the Mining Police and proactively address high-risk incidents of non-compliance with Mining Laws. The federal and state governments will also be encouraged to assign the prosecution of cases against illegal miners to the competent courts,” the minister said.
Speaking of the area of focus, the ministry will focus on improving and developing the sector; The minister said that the ministry had identified several factors, such as inefficient geographic data, poor implementation and enforcement, poor environmental, health and safety policies, fragility and conflict, unregulated artisanal mining, low technical capacity, lack of access to finance, weak intergovernmental and interagency coordination and weak federal/state relations.
Alaba Balogun, Deputy Director of Press, Ministry of Solid Minerals