Mohammed Amate is the Director-General, the Mining Cadastre Office, the sole agency responsible for the administration of mineral titles across the country. In this interview with Assistant Editor, Jide Babalola he speaks on the federal government’s projection to earn $27 billion revenue by 2025 amongst other sundry issues. Excerpts:
What has been your experience in running the Mining Cadastre Office, Nigeria’s sole agency for the administration of mining titles?
Running MCO has been very exciting for us, it has made issuance of licences very easy. The MCO is based on priority, first come first served, transparency. When people apply for a license; the good thing about it is that it is a very predictable system; you can predict whether you are going to get it or not and you can predict when you are going to get it and it is purely based on transparency, with openness to process mining titles with speed.
Before the advent of the Mining Cadastre Office, it used to take about one to two years to get a single license. Now if you apply, you can get your license within a maximum of 30-45 days, as long as you have complied with all the requirements as contained in the law.
The Federal Government aims to diversify the economy, with billions of dollars as projected revenues from the mining sector. Would you say that much impact has been made in terms of funds and the number of foreign investors coming in?
Mining, as we keep on saying, is not something that you invest today and start getting the dividends tomorrow; it has a long gestation period. Right now as we speak, 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. Before you even commence mining, you must first of all investigate the area, carry out exploration to find out if you have the minerals you need in the right quality and quantity before you engage in mining. So, it is not something that you invest today and start generating revenues tomorrow – it takes time.
How many companies have expressed interest in commencing exploration within the past three years?
Now, we have granted well over 6, 000 exploration licences. What we normally do, the law requires you to obtain what we call exploration licences. The purpose of this license is to enable you carry out detailed exploration and it is usually granted for the first term of three years. After three years, if you have concluded your work and you have 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 are free to 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, you have a chance of renewing twice, every two years. If you are not able to conclude, you can renew for another two years and that makes it seven years. Within that seven years, you are expected to have completed your exploration programme, then you can now apply for a Mining Lease. So you see that mining is not a dash, it is a marathon; it takes time and it is knowledge-based; it is not something that you just go into, you must have the technical competence, you must have the financial capabilities to enable you go into mining.
That means it is going to take some years before the approximately six thousand who applied for exploration licences to begin achieve concrete outcomes?
Some of them have already carried out exploration and they have already identified what they want and they are in the process of commencing mining. There is a company in Osun State, they have carried out exploration on gold in Osun, they have already obtained Mining Lease and they are about to commence mining. The one in Osun is a Canadian company.
There is an Australian company in Kebbi, they have also carried out exploration in gold and they have obtained Mining Lease and they are in the process of commencing mining. There is another Australian company in Bauchi, they have carried out their exploration and in fact, they have started carrying out mining of lead zinc. There is another Australian company in Kaduna that is looking at nickel and they are still in the exploratory stage.
So, they are in different stages, we have people that have carried out their exploration that it will soon develop into mining. Some are still carrying out exploration. Look at the cement industry which is a success story now; 95% of the raw material is limestone, the balance of 5% is gypsum which is also in mining and there are few other additives. So, we have gone a long way.
Considering the fact that the exploration process in mining sometimes involves investing millions of dollars, to what extent do we respect the mining principle of sanctity of title in Nigeria? Do we respect sanctity of title in the global standard or do we have a peculiar way in Nigeria?
That is one good thing about the mining cadastre system. In addition to what I have told you regarding transparency, first come first served considerations; it also enjoys security of tenure. If you are granted a title, as long as you are complying with the conditions stipulated in the law, your license cannot be withdrawn.
The Baba-Tsauni Mines issue involving IOM Limited was brought before the ERGP Focus Labs; the company asserted that it was granted 236 cadastral units and that after some time, there is attempt to excise 40 cadastral units in disavowal of sanctity of title. The erstwhile Minister, now Governor Fayemi insisted that the matter had been resolved but we understand that MCO insists on excising the forty units…
The MCO cannot insist on anything. As far as that issue is concerned, I know if I can recollect properly, they acquired an exploration licence from a third party, a Mining Lease of 136 CUs and then later they acquired addition 60 CUs, making it 196. This 196 is about 40 square kilometers. They now came to enlarge the Mining Lease by another 100 CUs. As I briefed you earlier on, a Mining Lease must emanate from an exploration licence and the total exploration licence they were holding is 196, that is 40 square kilometers. When they came to enlarge, rather than enlarging with only the 60 CUs that they have left, they enlarged by 100 CUs. And unfortunately, that additional 40 CUs, they didn’t have an exploration licence over it so, they couldn’t have applied for a mining lease over it. Two, the 40 CUs belonged to another company altogether; the company’s name is Comtech and the company officially transferred 20 of it to one company they called Plateau Tin Mines and they are left with 20 CUs. So, Iron Ore Mining Ltd came to expand their Mining Lease, they erroneously applied for 100 CUs instead of the 60 CUs that they had, and I think because there was a little administrative mix up, it was granted. When it was realised that that 40 CUs didn’t belong to them, that it belongs to another company, they were written officially. We said: ‘Look, your area is only 196 CUs because that 40 CU belonged to another company called Comtech and they came and had a meeting with the Minister and it was resolved that yes, that area doesn’t belong to them.
Again, we told them that ‘You are all businessmen, you can sit down, discuss and whatever is your business relationship, it is up to you.’ But legally speaking, Comtech has 40 CUs which is about eight square kilometers, while Iron Ore Ltd has 196 CUs which is 40 square kilometers and we agreed on this. Later, they came to deny that we had met in the Minister’s office. The meeting was held in the Minister’s office and chaired by the Minister and we had Iron Ore Mining Company there and Comtech that had 40 CUs and we had Plateau Tin Mines that was transferred 20 CUs by Comtech in the Minister’s office and we all agreed that the 40 CUs that didn’t belong to them ab initio should be excised. Don’t forget that the law does not allow you to obtain a mining lease over an area you did not have an exploration licence in the first place because the law says a Mining Lease must emanate from an exploration licence.
So, do Comtech and Plateau Tin Mines have a valid right or a Mining Licence over the area now?
Of course they have.
Have you granted them a lease?
Yes. Plateau Tin Mines have collected their Mining Lease for the 20 CUs.
But the 236 CU Mining Lease to IOM Ltd has not been withdrawn?
No. As I said, they (IOM) had 196 CUs and they came to expand it by 100CUs. They made a mistake, they shouldn’t have expanded by 100CUs rather, they should have expanded by 60 CUs, making it 196, but they applied over and above the area they had.
And IOM Ltd was granted the Mining Lease for 236 Cadastral Units?
Yes.
Since Plateau Tin Mines is entitled to a Mining Lease that means the 236 CU Mining Lease granted to IOM has to be withdrawn?
We have written letters to that effect. What was withdrawn was the 40 CUs that belongs to Comtech and Plateau Tin Mines.
Beyond withdrawal by letter, are you going to withdraw the (IOM) Mining Lease or amend it?
Yes, we have sent a letter to them to return it so that we can amend it, but for now, the 196 CUs belongs to them, they can do whatever and nobody can tamper with that.
Have Comtech and Plateau Tin Mines taken you to court or not?
No, they didn’t but they have complained to us that they needed it to be returned to them. It belongs to them anyway. From our own records, the 196 CUs belong to Iron Ore until it a court rules otherwise. As far as we are concerned, we believe we are right by giving Iron Company that area.
From a lay man’s perspective, Nigeria needs as many investors as possible; how can this matter that is generating international interest be resolved without sending out wrong signals?
As I have said, we have granted 6,000 titles and the system we are using enjoys the security of tenure. Nobody can tell you that he was granted a license and that his license was withdrawn. Nobody!
How can things be resolved now?
It has been resolved, and the resolution is that since Comtech and Plateau Tin Mines have that 40 CUs, which is just eight square kilometers, they retain it while Iron Ore has 196 CUs. As far as we are concerned, I said look even though you have this and you have this, sit down among yourselves, whether you will jointly mine, your business relationship does not concern us.
What was the decision taken at the ERGP Focus Labs which made efforts to resolve such outstanding issues?
The ERGP Focus Lab resolution was that, it was based on the resolution that has already been done in the Minister’s office where all of them were parties to the meeting. They were all parties to the meeting.
Meanwhile while all these are going on, illegal miners are there, operating the way they have doing everywhere?
The issue of illegal mining is that if you have a title, it’s if you have a house for instance and you don’t make use of it, you will allow vacuum. You have Mining Lease all these years which is over 40 kilometers, go and commence mining operations! If you don’t commence operation, illegal miners will definitely invade it. There was a time we had to make arrangements to go and flush them out. For as long as the legal owner is not present on site, they will keep coming.
Are the two mining leases contiguous along the same area or within one another?
They are contiguous. Everybody has his own mining title. There are people who are mining on five cadastral units. We encourage investors and that is why if you come to apply for a licence today, you don’t need to see or talk to anyone for as long as your documentations are correct, you are granted. And you can interview those that have acquired Mining Leases here, some of them have never even stepped feet here. You will apply, do your documentation and you will get it.
I think what they are trying to do, to me, they are not being fair to us, they are not being fair to the nation. We have had meetings chaired by the Minister and we all agreed. They all came with their lawyers, we met and we agreed that: ‘Yes, this is what it was; you Iron Ore Ltd, you have 196 CUs which is 40 square kilometers, go and commence your work. Plateau Tin Mines, you have four square kilometers, go and do your work. Comtech, you have four kilometres.’ So, what is the problem?
What is going to be the next step now towards finally resolving it all?
Well, as far as we are concerned, it is resolved. I think Plateau Tin Mines are getting prepared to go to the field to commence work and we expect that Iron Ore should also move to site and commence work in their 40 square kilometers.