The Nigerian government and its French counterpart recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to revive over 2,000 abandoned mining pits in the country. The MoU was signed during the recent visit of President Bola Tinubu to France. The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, signed for the country while the Inter-Ministerial delegate for Critical Ores and Metals of the Republic of France, Benjamin Gallezot, signed on behalf of France.
Alake maintained that the agreement would open new opportunities for the remediation of the abandoned pits in the country through its plan to intervene in environmental rehabilitation and post-mining projects. Repositioning Nigeria’s solid minerals sector will boost Nigeria’s revenue. If adequately exploited, the solid mineral industry can effectively compete with the oil sector.
The minister also stated that both countries would develop joint projects to promote and diversify the critical minerals value chain in the solid minerals sector of Nigeria and France. These critical minerals include copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt, which are earth elements essential to clean energy technologies. The key component of the agreement is the promotion of sustainable mining activities through the execution of projects and programmes that reduce environmental impact of mining on carbon emissions, water consumption, and climate change. The agreement also entails the establishment of joint processing projects through co-financing by public and private entities to diversify and secure the supply of critical minerals and decarbonize energy projects critical to the value chain.
The projects will equally improve the conditions of the local populace affected by mining. One of the criticisms trailing France’s decades of mining in West Africa is the neglect of people in the mining zone. The new military leaders in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso claimed that the political systems established by France in the region enabled it to extract valuable resources, like uranium, while using repressive strategies to retain control and give little in return to the country and the immediate communities harbouring the natural resources. Nigeria must ensure that this mistake should not be repeated in our mining sector. It is hoped that the memorandum would attract not only French investors to Nigeria’s mining sector but also investors from other countries.
No doubt, Nigeria’s mining sector is still underdeveloped. The sector has long been dominated by both legal and illegal miners from Asian countries and their local collaborators. It is laudable that the government is interested in regulating the lucrative but abandoned sector. Regulating the sector will enable the government and the people benefit from our abundant solid minerals such as gold, coal, limestone, tin, tantalite, basalt, and others. Illegal mining has led to huge losses in revenues and needless deaths by desperate locals and their foreign backers. Mining of other mineral resources apart from oil has a huge potential to diversify Nigeria’s economy and rival oil in significant revenue generation to the country. It is sad that this sector has been hugely untapped.
In the absence of coordinated activities by the federal government or its representatives, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities have been prevalent in many parts of Nigeria, especially in the rural areas, where the bulk of these minerals are located. The insecurity in the North-West region has been reportedly fueled by those behind the illegal mining in the area.
Beyond regulating the sector, the federal government should address some peculiar challenges militating against the sector. The remote location of mining sites poses big infrastructure challenges in accessing water and power, as well as high cost of transportation, which add to the production costs. Like Nigerian farmers, miners have to deal with security concerns, from community conflicts to armed banditry, which have created an unstable operating environment. No investors would like to invest in unsafe environment. We task the government to curb the insecurity in the region and other parts of the country.
We believe that developing the sector will create jobs and boost the revenue base of the government. It will also make the country less dependent on crude oil. Nigeria has no reason to be hugely indebted when the country’s vast mineral resources can provide a solid foundation for economic prosperity and growth, if well harnessed. However, tax rebates, duty-free importation of mining equipment and other incentives should be given to investors. The development of local content in the mining sector must not be neglected.