The federal government has indicated an intention for an upward review of mining licenses rates and other sundry fees payable by mining operators in the country.
The minister of solid minerals development, Dr. Dele Alake, who announced this during a consultative meeting with stakeholders in the mining industry, stressed the imperative of the review to boost the capacity of the government to effectively reposition the mining sector.
In a statement by Segun Tomori, the minister’s special assistant on media on Thursday, Alake enumerated efforts being made to reposition the mining industry, and revealed that asides from on-going reforms, the federal government is sanitising the mining environment through the newly unveiled mining marshals, which he affirmed had been conducting operations in parts of the country to protect legitimate miners and combat illegal mining.
He solicited the support of stakeholders for the impending increase in fees for mining licenses and other sundry fees, and added that this move had become inevitable if government was to effectively fulfil its obligations of providing an enabling environment for mining operations whilst also raising more revenue for government.
“For us to continue to ensure that we secure the mining environment and keep putting in place measures that will ease the operational difficulties and challenges that confront miners, we need to review the rates of mining licenses and other sundry fees. We felt that we can’t just do this without letting you know because, invariably, you are the players in the industry,” the minister added.
On the recent revocation of dormant mining licenses, the minister noted that the government followed due process and extant laws guiding the action, emphasising that a 30-day restitution window still exists for affected operators.
The minister had recently announced a restitution fee of N10m, N7.5m, N5m and N2.5m for mining leases, small scale mining licenses, exploration licenses and quarrying licenses respectively for revoked dormant licenses.
The same rule applies to those earlier revoked for default in payment of annual service fees.
In his submission, the director-general of the Mining Cadastral Office, Engr. Obadiah Nkom, who also chaired the fees review committee, stated that the committee recommended new rates that are affordable and will enhance the competitiveness of the fiscal regime of the mining sector in comparison with regional and global standards.
President of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dele Ayanleke, who spoke on behalf of the stakeholders, commended the minister for his efforts to put the mining sector on the global front burner, expressing support for ongoing reforms and plans to review fees payable by operators.
He urged the minister to consider challenges faced by miners and ensure the rates are affordable.
Other stakeholders in attendance were representatives of Women In Mining (WIN), Gemstone Miners Association (GMA), top officials of the ministry and a host of others.