THE Federal government said today that it has been taking steps to stop the activities of illegal miners across the country, a concern it said had created serious economic sabotage for the country.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, stating this in Abuja, said part of the ministry’s steps had been to coordinate 4,000 mining cooperatives, while cracking down on unregistered miners, as well as on other illegalities in the sector.
Adegbite said, “We want to add value of beneficiation in the sector to enable us redirect it. We are de-risking the sector to make it attractive for investors.
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“Our current reforms are yielding results. You need to see what the sector is contributing to the GDP 10 years ago and now to appreciate the reforms. For instance, we were doing less than a billion naira contribution to the GDP 10 years ago, but now it is more than N10 billion.”
Adegbite admitted that illegal mining remained a problem, disclosng that the ministry is currently in partnership with the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service to curb the menace.
According to him, the current administration had intensified efforts to de-risk the sector with $100 million, which he said had heightened investors’ interest in the sector.
“These investments by the Buhari-led administration have helped us in acquiring data for the sector, which currently pushes up investors’ attraction for the sector,” he added.
Adegbite, commenting on why Nigeria does not have an economic edge on Australia and South Africa in mining benefits, said oil discovery distracted Nigeria’s concentration on growing mining investments.
“These countries have been doing mining for over 200 years without interruption. Petroleum discovery swayed Nigeria’s interest in mining, with less investments by the government on mining exploration,” he said.
He also explained that global miners were finding their way to Nigeria due to lower cost of exploration, when compared with established global mining jurisdictions.
“It takes about $400 to mine gold in Nigeria, whereas in established jurisdictions like Australia and United Kingdom, it takes to up to $1,200 to mine an ounce of gold,” he said.
The minister added that upbeat investors from Canada and the United Kingdom had expressed interest in Nigeria’s mining sector, as the government intensifies efforts to de-risk the sector.
He also said the government had commenced enforcement of the beneficiation order, as approved by the Federal Executive Council, to disallow scavenging and raw exports of Nigeria’s solid mineral resources.
“I was in Saudi Arabia and the Tesla people approached us and requested to mine our lithium. I told them to come and build their battery factory in our country rather than explore the raw resources. This is how we are growing our beneficiation strategy and adding value to our mineral resources.
“In the last two years, people have come in from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States to advance discussions with us on investments in the mining sector. All these are because of reforms in the sector,” he added.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.