The federal government has pledged to ease the procedures that would aid access to the N2.5 billion artisanal mining fund for small-scale miners launched by the federal government in 2016.
The renewed commitment follows growing concerns of poor access to the fund, which was launched to drive growth in the sector that contributes less to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product despite huge potential.
The artisanal miners, many of whom have not formalised their mining businesses, continue to lament difficult conditions laid down by the Bank of Industry, including bank guarantee, collateral security, and tax clearance, among others.
”In collaboration with the Bank of Industry, (BoI), the Ministry established a small-scale mining fund of N2.5 billion to grant loans to artisanal miners at 5 percent concessionary rate.”
“The tough conditions which hitherto were necessary have made it difficult for people to access this fund. Only one artisanal miner has accessed the fund in the sum of N95 million out of the N2.5bn,” Olamilekan Adegbite, minister of mines and steel development, said while opening the mining week in Abuja.
The mining industry has a weak contribution of 0.12 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is poor for a sector which largely has the capacity to drive Nigeria’s diversification away from oil resources.
Adegbite stated that the federal government is working out some other unorthodox means to make sure that other people access this fund.
Speaking on the proposed Mineral Export Guidelines, the minister said there would be no room for royalty payment evasion.
“All mineral exports shall be inspected by government appointed independent pre-shipment inspection agents, who are empowered by law to render quantity and quality control services and monitor pricing.”
This control mechanism is in accordance with the Pre-Shipment Inspection of Exports Act, the minister said.
“We are also building a strong geosciences base to enhance our competitiveness as a world-class mineral exploration destination that foreign investors would find attractive,” he said.
Nigeria has only been able to attract 0.12 percent out of the 5 percent share of exploration investment flowing into the West African region,” he lamented.
Adegbite said the federal government has commenced the process of retrieving Nigeria’s colonial geological data from United Kingdom by engaging the British Geological Survey (BGS).
This is to build a national electronic geo-data archiving management system to be called the Nigerian Geo-data Centre at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA).
He further pointed out that the ministry has been working on increasing investments in mining through broadening economic opportunities in the sector. The ministry would work in line with federal government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to advance diversification of the economy through the Mining sector, he pledged.
In his earlier remarks, Kabiru Kankara, chairman of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), said the association would work with the government to advance the growth of the mining sector.
“The federal government in its magnanimous posture allocated N2.5 billion to ease the way of doing business as far as the small and artisanal miners are concerned, but over two after this allocation, nothing has come to the hands of the miners,” Kankara lamented.
HARRISON EDEH, ABUJA
