The Federal Government will earn over $20 billion from the mining industry in the next eight years, the Mining Cadre Office Director-General, Mr. Mohammed Amate, has said.
He said the government has issued over 6,000 licences to miners, adding that it will leverage the potential in the sector to achieve the goal.
In an interview with The Nation, he said the licensing of many miners was aimed at making the industry one of the major contributors to Federal Government‘s earnings, noting that the country relies heavily on oil exports, which accounted for over 70 per cent of its revenue.
Amate said: “The government has developed blueprints in order to accelerate the growth of the mining industry. It has begun the implementation of the blueprints by licensing over 6,000 miners, among carrying out other activities that would aid the exportation of various mining materials to developing and developed economies. If Nigeria can be exporting its crude oil to other countries to develop its economies, what stops the government from doing the same with solid minerals sector, where Nigeria has huge reserves.”
He said through this, the country will move from a mono economy to a multi-faceted economy, adding that the government emphases a diversified economy to encourage growth.
Multiple licensing, Amate said, would help miners to carry out detailed exploration, stressing that the licence is usually granted for the first term of three years.
He said: “After three years, if you have concluded your work, established and delineated the areas that you think contains the minerals that you desire, you will now obtain a mining lease. With an exploration licence, you cannot mine, you can only explore, but once you obtain the mining lease, you can mine the minerals you have been authorised to mine. That is why we give you an exploration licence for three years to carry out your exploration. If you are able to conclude your exploration within that period, you can now write and obtain the mining lease. If you have not completed it, you have a chance of renewing twice, every two years.”
He said some miners are carrying out exploration, adding that they come from states, such as Kebbi, Bauchi, Kaduna, and Osun. The firms mine minerals, such as gold and zinc.
Amate said the government has concluded plans to rid the sector of illegal miners, adding that they are not complying with the standards set by the government. He urged operators to be patient, stressing that mining has long gestation period.
‘’We have a number of foreign companies that are coming to pick licences for the purpose of determining whether the minerals are available or not, which is an indication that the industry is still growing in Nigeria,” he added.