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From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Federal Government collected N6,957,826,200 mining fees and registered 118 new private mineral buying centres in the first quarter of 2025.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, made this known in Abuja, at the second Annual Mining Conference organised by Businessday Newspaper in Abuja, last weekend.
In a statement by the Minister’s media aide, Segun Tomori, Alake said the revenues reflected the outcome of the ministry’s efforts to raise awareness and attract investors.
He said the mining fees collected by licensing parastatal, Mining Cadastral Office (MCO), came 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 approved 867 applications, including 512 exploration licenses, 295 small-scale mining leases, 60 quarry leases and five mining leases.
He added that the revenues were from various fees, including annual service fees, application processing fees and renewal of titles.
The MCO has also stepped up conflict resolution to reduce petitions arising from overlap and litigation over ownership.
Alake disclosed that the ministry has recorded a lot of progress in plans to set up the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.
Speaking on the theme, “Building a Resilient Mining Sector,” Alake said the corporation would 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 25 percent equity reserved for citizens, 25 percent for the government and 50 percent for the private sector,” the minister stated.
He scored the ministry high on revenue generation, citing how it surpassed the 2024 projected revenue of N11 billion by N27 billion to N38 billion.
Highlighting the impact of international engagements, Alake revealed that the French government was committed to equipping the laboratory of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) and training 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 are billed to depart next month. British and Saudi Arabian investors are coming together to invest across the mineral value chain, and just a few days ago, we signed an MOU on capacity building in the geology field with South Africa,” he added.
Citing the impact of his value addition policy, the minister declared that it had enhanced local benefaction and positioned Nigeria as the indisputable leader of African mining countries.
“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 said this is already yielding fruits “as we will commission some Lithium, bauxite and gold refining plants this quarter.”
