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…Issues illegal miners 30-day ultimatum
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Ministry of Solid Minerals has concluded arrangements to embark on comprehensive review of mining licences.
The minister, Oladele Alake, who said this at a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, issued a 30-day ultimatum to illegal miners to join cooperative, adding that studies and practical experience in the field have identified several factors, such as inefficient geo-data, weak implementation and enforcement, poor environmental, safety and health policies, fragility and conflict, unregulated artisanal mining, low technical capacity, lack of access to financing, weak inter-governmental and inter-agency co-ordination and weak federal/state relations over mining land as barriers to the development of the sector.
Announcing that the ultimatum and plan to introduce security operatives were parts of his seven transformation agenda, Alake said he was baffled that a country with precious minerals like gold, bitumen, lithium and uranium in massive proportions would fail to use the resources to liberate its citizens.
“I am giving illegal miners in this country just 30 days grace to join cooperatives or find another vocation. Also, the proposed task force will be domiciled in the ministry and will comprise operatives of all the relevant security agencies. For the last time, let me declare again that the ministry is giving such persons 30 days grace to join a miners’ co-operative or find another vocation to do.
“On the expiration of the period, the full weight of the law will fall on anyone seen on a mining site without a determinable status. This message will be interpreted into Nigerian languages and broadcast on the radio to ensure no one is ignorant of this directive.
“From October, a rejuvenated security regime will become active in the solid minerals sector. This will include the Mine Police, sourced from the Nigeria Police and specially trained to detect illegal mining and apprehend offenders.
“The new Mines Surveillance Security Task Force will coordinate the Mines Police and proactively address high-risk incidences of breach of Mining Laws. The federal and state governments will also be encouraged to allocate the prosecution of cases against illegal miners to competent courts.”
He said government is ready to take the “bull by the horns” to “reap the trillion dollars worth of minerals under the ground” across the country.
“Mining is big business. Nigeria must assert its presence in this environment by replicating its strategic positioning in the petroleum sector by setting up a corporate body that plays in this field.
“Consequently, the ministry shall work towards the incorporation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.
“This is a corporate body that will have subsidiaries doing business in the seven priority areas that require immediate intervention and focus: gold, coal, limestone, bitumen, lead, iron-ore and baryte.
“Existing enterprises such as the National Iron-Ore Company, and ongoing arrangements, such as the Bitumen Concessioning Programme, will be reviewed to fit into this new system.
“The proposed corporation will seek and secure partnership investment agreements with big multinational companies worldwide to leverage the attractive investment-friendly regime operating in the country to secure massive foreign direct investment for the mining sector.
“The positioning of the national corporation as a guarantor and protector of the partnership agreements is expected to assure partners of our seriousness and fidelity.
“Similarly, the solid minerals corporation will provide robust support for Nigerian businessmen seeking funding abroad and help to authenticate their investment proposals to speed up the commitment of their partners to invest.”
“Domestically, the solid minerals corporation will engage the Nigerian financial system, which has demonstrated palpable reluctance to support mineral prospecting and mining because of the long-term gestation of value generation by developing a Fund to facilitate investments in mining at interest rates that will be mutually agreed.”
“We have been mandated to improve on the formulation and regulation guiding prospecting, quarrying, and mining; improve data gathering; monitor and organize more efficiently the sale and consumption of minerals and increase revenue accruable to the federal government from the issuance of permits, licenses, leases and the collection of rents, fees, and royalties.
“The Ministry has to take the bull by the horns if the country must reap the harvest of the trillion dollars worth of minerals under the ground across the country. To achieve this laudable objective, there has to be a paradigm shift in the strategy by re-positioning the sector in terms of the human and capital factors that can drive its transformation.
“The defining characteristic of a serious mining industry is capital formation based on investment activity powered by precise geo-scientific data that is transparent and accessible. Mining is big business.
“Consequently, the ministry shall work towards the incorporation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation. This is a corporate body that will have subsidiaries doing business in the seven priority areas that require immediate intervention and focus: Gold, Coal, Limestone, Bitumen, Lead, Iron-ore and Baryte. Existing enterprises, such as the National Iron-Ore Company, and ongoing arrangements, such as the bitumen concessioning programme, will be reviewed to fit into this new system.
“The proposed corporation will seek and secure partnership investment agreements with big multinational companies worldwide to leverage on the attractive investment-friendly regime operating in the country to secure massive foreign direct investment for the mining sector.
“The positioning of the national corporation as a guarantor and protector of the partnership agreements is expected to assure partners of our seriousness and fidelity,” he said.
