*Dr. Oladele Alake, Minister for Solid Minerals Development, highlights finer details of the Ministry’s performance at the 2nd Annual Mining Conference, in Abuja

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

The Federal Government of Nigeria Monday, April 21, 2025, said it collected N6,957,826,200 mining fees and registered 118 new private mineral buying centres in the First Quarter (Q1) 2025.

Dr. Oladele Alake, Honourable Minister for Solid Minerals Development (MSMD), disclosed the details at the 2nd Annual Mining Conference, organised by BusinessDay newspaper at the weekend, in Abuja, FCT.

Alake, who spoke on the theme, 鈥淏uilding A Resilient Mining Sector”, said the revenues collected reflect the outcome of the Ministry’s efforts at raising awareness and attracting investors into the sector of the Nigerian economy.

The Minister noted that the mining fees the Federal Government collected by licensing parastatal Mining Cadastral Office (MCO), came from 955 applications for title grants.

Reeling off the details, Dr. Alake stated that 651 were for exploration, 270 for small-scale mining, 49 for Quarrying, and 24 for reconnaissance permits during the period.

The Ministry equally approved 867 applications, including 512 exploration licences, 295 small-scale mining leases, 60 Quarry leases, and five mining leases, he said.

He revealed the revenues are from paying various fees, including annual service fees, application processing fees, and renewal of titles.

He also stated: “MCO has also stepped up conflict resolution to reduce petitions arising from overlap and litigation over ownership.”

Alake disclosed that the Ministry has recorded much progress in plans to set up the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.

He noted that the aim is to make its structure a veritable special-purpose vehicle that will catapult Nigeria into the league of global mining players.

According to him, the Corporation will be globally competitive and rooted in Nigerian expertise and capital.

Segun Tomori, Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, in a statement, quoted Alake to have said: “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.”

He as well 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 has committed to equipping the laboratory of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) and train young geologists abroad in modern mining technologies on the heels of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and French President Emmanuel Macron signed.

The Minister also stated: 鈥淭he 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 few days ago, we signed an MoU on capacity building in the geology field with South Africa.”

In regard to the impact of his value addition policy, he declared that the regulatory effort has enhanced local beneficiation and positioned Nigeria as the undisputable leader of mining countries in Africa.

鈥淣igeria 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 stated that this is already yielding fruits as we will commission some Lithium, bauxite, and gold refining plants this quarter,” Dr. Alake said.

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