The Federal Government on Thursday expressed concern over a decline in the number of applications for mining licences in the country.
Records presented by the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office, an agency in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, during a working visit by the minister, Olamilekan Adegbite, indicated that applications for mining licence declined in 2019.
Although a comprehensive breakdown of the number of applications was not disclosed, the minister expressed concern about the development.
The minister wondered why the applications dropped at a time the government was banking on the mining sector to actualise its economic diversification agenda.
Speaking at a meeting with the management of the agency, Adegbite said, “The applications have dropped this year; you need to ask yourself why. I looked at the graph you gave me of applications over the years and the applications for this year by July seemed to have dropped from what you had in the past.
“By July ending this year, you had 1,025 applications, and in 2016 the total application received was 2,800.
“Do we lower interest in mining now that government is placing a lot of emphasis on in the sector? This administration wants to use mining to diversify the economy and generate employment for our people.
“So why is application dropping? This is something we need to check. We need to look at that.”
The minister urged the agency, which has the mandate to administer and manage mineral titles, to create more awareness about mining in order to improve the number of applications.
Adegbite also urged the state governments to play an active role in the mining sector by floating companies or joint ventures.
Speaking on the dispute between the Federal Government and the states over mining rights, the minister said, “The Federal Government is best positioned to realise revenue from mining and if the states are patient, they will get their due from derivation.
“And even going beyond that, states are now encouraged to form special purpose vehicles so that they can participate in mining.”
Director-General of the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office, Simon Nkom, said the agency was determined to ensure transparency in all its activities.
He added that the agency had revoked about 1,566 inactive mining licences in line with its ‘use it or lose it’ approach.
“’Use it or lose it’ helps to eliminate speculators. When we give you the licence, you either use it or lose it. It is on that basis that we have been able to make the system attractive enough for investors so as to generate more revenue,” he said.
