Solid minerals will boost Nigeria’s GDP by 50 percent-Aleke

Solid minerals will boost Nigeria’s GDP by 50 percent-Aleke

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, has announced that the ministry is determined to significantly contribute to the Nigerian economy by adding at least 50% to its current value. Additionally, he emphasized the ministry’s commitment to attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country. 

The minister, who spoke during the unveiling of the ‘Plan for the Advancement of Solid Minerals for Global Competitiveness and National Prosperity’, in Abuja on Sunday, announced that the ministry will prioritize a seven-point agenda. 

The agenda includes, establishing the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, forming partnerships with mining multinational companies, collecting and analyzing extensive data on seven key minerals and their deposits, granting a 30-day period for illegal miners to join artisanal cooperatives, implementing a Mines Surveillance Task Force and Mine Police, conducting a comprehensive review of all mining licenses, and establishing six Mineral Processing Centers to focus on creating value-added products 

 “President Bola Tinubu has taken firm, courageous decisions that have reset the logic of the Nigerian economy. The removal of subsidy and the adoption of a single exchange rate are among the fundamental transformational policies of this administration. This radical approach to making the economy resilient in the long term is the guiding principle of the management of the Ministry.

“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 minister stated. 

On the creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, he said “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.

“The Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation will establish subsidiaries to operate in the seven priority areas of gold, coal, limestone, bitumen, lead, iron-ore, and baryte. The aim is to provide immediate intervention and focus on these areas to enhance their development.

” In order to align with the new system, existing enterprises like the National Iron-Ore Company and ongoing programs like the Bitumen Concessioning Programme will undergo a review. This is to ensure they fit into the overall strategy and objectives of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation. 

“The proposed corporation aims to establish partnership investment agreements with major multinational companies globally, taking advantage of the favorable investment climate in the country to attract significant Foreign Direct Investment for the mining sector.

” By positioning itself as a reliable guarantor and protector of these partnerships, the national corporation intends to instill confidence in potential partners regarding our commitment and trustworthiness. 

“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,” Alake noted. 

The minister emphasized that the country will capitalize on its vast reserves of precious minerals, such as gold, manganese, bitumen, lithium, iron ore, lead, zinc, limestone, uranium, columbite, barite, kaolin, gemstones, coal, topaz, and copper, in order to attract investors. 

According to him, Nigeria estimated reserves include Gold (1 million ounces); Limestone (568 metric tonnes), Lead/Zinc, (Baryte (15 million metric tonnes), Bitumen (N1.1 billion barrels), Iron Ore (3 billion Metric Tonnes) and Coal, (N396 million).

The sector also boasts of over 2 million operators, including over 633 small-scale companies and 251, 500 registered miners.

He added that the ministry is bringing a security tax force mines policy that will help the country to overcome illegal mining and smuggling.

“For the last time, let me declare 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,” the minister said. 

In terms of improving and developing the mining sector, the Minister highlighted several key areas of focus that the Ministry has identified. These include addressing issues such as inefficient geo-data, weak implementation and enforcement of regulations, poor environmental, safety, and health policies, fragility and conflict in mining areas, unregulated artisanal mining, low technical capacity, limited access to financing, weak inter-governmental and inter-agency coordination, and challenges in Federal/State relations.