Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The Nigerian government generated, in one year, a total of N16.4 billion from mining royalty and sundry fees through the Mining Cadastral Office ,MCO – an agency under the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development that is in charge of mineral title administration.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, who disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday at the sectoral updates series to mark the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, said the revenue was generated between May 2023 and April this year.
Dr. Alake said the figure was a surplus of N6.7 billion over and above the target of N10.5 billion set for the agency.
The minister further revealed that the ministry generated and collected the sum of fourteen billion, nine hundred and thirty-eight million one hundred and sixty-four thousand three hundred and thirty-five naira and forty-three Kobo (N14,938,164,335.43) as of the year ended December 31, 2023 and that this represented 72.1 percent positive variance and 172.1 percent performance when compared with the annual budgetary target of N8,680,197,621.00 for year 2023.
He also reported that the ministry, through the Solid Minerals Development Fund ,SMDF, collaborated with GeoScan Gmbh for the exploration and development of Nigerian critical mineral resources using innovative technology.
On funding, he stated that the ministry had struck a deal with the African Finance Corporation to raise a project development facility to fund companies facing the challenge of raising capital to execute their early-stage exploration projects, adding that at least 20 candidates had been shortlisted and were undergoing training to prepare and manage the funds efficiently.
“Another initiative of SMDF is its partnership with the global exploration agency, XCalibur. Both are working together to advance Nigeria’s geological data capabilities. The SMDF is the face of the Ministry as the partner of choice for international mining companies. It mobilises capital for critical and strategic mining projects, attracts foreign direct investment, and fast-tracks the delivery of final investment decisions,” the minister explained.
On the gathering of big data, he said the ministry proposed a N70 billion exploration funding for it. He, however, noted that although it was not accommodated in the current budget, the ministry would continue to make a strong case for this project as the panacea to the difficulty in mineral exploitation in Nigeria.
Alake also spoke about the efforts of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency ,NGSA, in engaging in strenuous research to unravel the mineralogy of the Nigerian landscape despite shortage of funds.
He said: “The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency despite limited funds continues to engage in research to unravel the mineralogy of the Nigerian landscape. In the year under review, it performed the Geo-Information and Archiving of Data, Digitisation, and archiving of NGSA legacy data for Geodata Centre (Aerial photographs, maps, Bulletins) Phase 2 (iii) Production of digital geotourism map and database of the southwest geo-political Zone of Nigeria.
“Regional mapping on 1:100,000 scale of the following sheets: Baro (205), Gulu (206), KotonKarfe (227), Aiyegunle (226), Yashikera (157) Okuta, Geochronological sampling/mapping of Age dating and mineralisation potential of the Kalangai-Zungeru-Ifewara Fault zone, SW Nigeria Phase 2.”
