Ike Amos
26 November 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – Nigeria produced 39.27 million tons of solid minerals in 2015, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, has said.
According to NEITI, this represented a reduction of 17% from the 47.1 million tons produced in 2014.
In a statement in Abuja, NEITI said the drop in 2015’s production was due to insecurity in parts of the country and more stringent approval process for explosives used in mining.
It noted that while mineral production reduced, government revenues went up in the same year.
It said the country earned N69.2 billion from solid minerals sector in 2015 and $9.733 million from the export of solid minerals.
NEITI said earnings from export was 1.45 percent of non-oil exports for the year, while earnings from the sector increased by 24 percent on the N55.8 billion earned from the sector in 2014.
It said: “This increase in revenue was due to the growth in taxes collected from the sector and review of royalty rates paid by companies which came into effect within the year under review.”
NEITI said this was contained in its latest independent audit report released recently following the approval of the report by the National Stakeholders Working Group, which is the board of NEITI.
The report disclosed that the total production of solid minerals in the country stood at 39.27 million tons, representing a reduction of 17% from the 47.1 million tons produced in 2014.
Lead and zinc, it said, topped the chart with 79% valued at $7.7 million, while 175 ounces of gold valued at only $122,000 were exported during the period.
