The Nation Newspaper

Tag: mining

  • Why N30b mining fund is inaccessible, by miners

    Eighteen months after the Federal Government  approved the release of N30 billion Intervention Fund for solid minerals development, stiff disbursement modalities have made it impossible for miners to access the fund.

    The Fund was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2016 to be used for geo-sciences data generation, improve mines-field security and monitoring, among others.

    According to the Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the intervention was in line with the enforcement of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007

    But miners under the aegis of Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) lamented that the conditionalities for disbursement of the fund are very tough, making it very difficult for small scale miners to access the fund.

    Its President, Alhaji Sani Shehu, told The Nation that because of the stiff conditionalities, only two members of the Association have been able to access the fund.

    “The day the cheques were presented, I was asked whether I was excited and I said no, I wasn’t. And my reason was that we will get excited only when we see the modalities, because the modalities have made it impossible for our people to access the fund,” Shehu said.

    According to him, “part of the conditionality is that they add the collateral to the amount requested”. “That means if you are asking for N10 million, you are asked to bring N15 million. Two; the earlier impression we had was that the intervention was mainly equipment-based.

    “That means you can use your equipment as collateral. We thought that the equipment can collateralise itself and then the applicant can now use the fund as working capital. And the collateral should be equal to the amount requested,”he said.

    Shehu, however, said when the Association complained to the Minister, he directed that MAN should come up with a proposal that will make it easy for its members to access the fund.

    “We appreciate the flexibility of the Minister allowing us to send a proposal. So, we are going to make a proposal on how the fund can be accessed as quickly as possible,” the MAN president told The Nation, during week.

    The proposal, he added, was part of the issues expected to be discussed at the Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) slated for this month in Abuja.

    “It (AGM) is a general congress because we need to carry everybody along, because this (the intervention fund) is very critical to the development of the sector. So, we need to take a position and to be able to communicate to the Minister,” Shehu said.

    The purchase of mining equipment has been a serious challenge for miners. Most of them do not have the equipment for mining because of the high cost of the machine.

    This was why the Association advised the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to release part of the N30 billion mining intervention fund for the purchase of mining equipment.

    “We need modern mining equipment; the ministry must take into consideration the need to support miners with necessary equipment to meet up with the mining global best practices,” Shehu said,

     

  • Towards safer mining environment

    Towards safer mining environment

    The Federal Government  has equipped artisanal and small- scale miners in gold-bearing communities in Ilesa, Osun State through its Safer Mining Projects, writes WALE AJETUNMOBI.

    The Safer Mining Project, which was spear- headed by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, took off in Osun State last week with a sensitisation and advocacy movement reaching out to various communities, such as Owu, Epe, Ibodi, Igun, Igbadae, Ijana Wasere, Iyemogun, Epe Akire, in Ilesa area of the state. Remarkable gold mining activities are taking place in thje area.

    Government believes it is imperative that stakeholders within the gold mining value chain are aware of the health implications and importance of keeping a clean and safe environment for the benefit of the artisanal and small scale miners and, most importantly, the host community.

    For the purpose of gathering first-hand information from the community, the ministry organised several town hall meetings which were attended by traditional rulers and chiefs, management/team of small scale artisanal miners association, women and adolescent groups, students, health workers as well as officials of the local mining inspectorate office.

    The town hall meetings gave deeper insights into the activities of local miners as well as co-existential issues associated with gold mining in Ilesa and its environs. Participants at the meetings were also given health talks on safer mining practices, including wearing protective gear, registering with the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the role of the ministry at ensuring safe environment from  hazards.

    An interactive training workshop was held to educate and expose small scale artisanal miners to safer mining techniques. The workshop was primarily aimed at stimulating awareness using case studies through the education of participants on the effects and detection of heavy metals (cyanide and other heavy metals), practical demonstration of safer mining practices and benefits of registering, formalising and zoning in compliance with government directives.

    Practical demonstrations of how to correctly use personal protective kits were also undertaken at the various mining sites to buttress the importance of safety gear to gold mining. Several personal protective equipment were presented to participants alongside certificates of participation. Also, community extension service officers were nominated to establish an early feedback system between the communities and the ministry.

    From Ibodi to Epe, Iyere to Igun, the story was the same: huge presence of hardworking Nigerian youths struggling to earn their living in the most hazardous manners. Through local techniques, with little or no regard for their safety and degradation of the environment, they ply their trade with enthusiasm, most times unoblivious of the associated health challenges and the hazards being caused to the environment.

    The three-day tour and training provided a veritable platform for the various stakeholders to ventilate their feelings and fears. It was indeed a case of different strokes for different folks at the town hall meetings. At the training sessions that followed, leaders of various communities and groups spoke on how the activities of local miners impacted negatively on farming, hunting and other activities in their communities. The miners also painted very gory pictures of how many have been injured or died as a result of their hazardous manner of mining.

    None of the complaints was strange to the ministry officials, who, in designing the Safer Mining Project, sought to achieve three things: protect individuals, protect the environment as well as encourage local miners to practise safer mining. As noted by a former President of the Artisanal Miners Welfare Association, Chief Friday Israel Mmecha, the decision of the ministry to intervene would further enhance the potentials of the sub-sector.

    “As a stakeholder, who has spent years in mining gold in this part of the country, this intervention programme on safer mining signifies the beginning of a new dawn. Over time, we have complained about the porosity of the system, whereby some opportunists just emerged from the blue and started looking for gold. With the Federal Government’’s keen supervision and monitoring, the economic potentials of the sector will be better harnessed. I must confess, the country is losing so much because of lack of regulation and poor method of mining,” Mmecha said.

    At the town hall meeting at Ibodi, the Federal Government team took community leaders and other stakeholders through the importance of the project to the economy, environment and individuals working in different communities for mining activities.  Speaking on behalf of the team, a safety professional, Dr. Adebola Odunsi, advised small-scale miners to ensure that the environment is well protected. He also urged them to report illegal miners in their neighborhood.

    Odunsi identified two types of mining: the harmful and the harmless. He noted that mining is harmful, if it endangers the lives of miners or dilapidates the environment, but harmless when it leads to safety of miners, sustainability of the environment and generation of revenue to economy. He told some journalists that the project was informed by the increasing rate of heavy lead and mercury poisoning associated with gold mining, especially in Zamfara State, which had led to the death of about 400 children.

    Even though government had intervened promptly to control the situation and had given adequate treatment to the affected persons, Odunsi said the ministry thought prevention and struck a deal with Michael H. Limited to design the Safe Mining Project, which would sensitise and raise the level of awareness among local miners.

    Odunsi said: “The Federal Government is aware that small-scale gold miners are exposed to occupational and environmental hazards at work. Government is also aware of the negative impact of some of their activities on the host communities; hence, the need to educate the miners on modern techniques.

    “For instance, Mercury is commonly used for gold mining to remove the gold from the hub and this can be harmful if necessary steps are not taken.”

    A former President of Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers Mr. Olusegun Oladipo said the project was long overdue. He recalled that over the years, stakeholders in the mining sector had  impressed it on successive administrations the need for training and retraining of local miners to avoid accidents and environmental degradation.

    Taking the small scale gold-miners through basic tips that would enhance effective and safe mining, Oladipo stressed the need for them to carry out their mining activities in beneficial ways to all stakeholders: the miners, the community and the government. He urged the miners to always fill their pitch after digging, to prevent accident and environment deprivation. He also advised them to acquaint themselves with modern ways of doing the job to avoid exposing themselves and families to danger.

    “As miners, you should naturally love yourselves and, therefore, avoid steps that would expose you to danger. Your host community should be your friend. So, protect their lands, then  be loyal to the government by abiding by the rules that guide mining activities in the country,” he said.

    On basic precaution that must be taken during gold mining activities, the expert said it is necessary for miners to always make sure that work clothes are cleaned very well. He also urged miners to always bath thoroughly and change into clean clothing before leaving the site. This, according to him, is to prevent particles from the mining sites to be carried home.

    Oladipo also advised the miners to always enure that soiled clothing are stored in containers and washed after use. He urged them to   avoid keeping work and home clothing in the same locker. The expert further warned the miners from keeping their food in any place where it can be contaminated with mercury.

    Beyond the stakeholders’ forum and training, another interesting part of the three-day tour was the visit to various gold reserves where the team led a demonstration to acquaint the local miners with modern techniques. For instance, at Ibodi, miners were assembled and given practical tips on how to carry out their jobs in the safest manner.

    Addressing the miners at the reserves, Odunsi said the Federal Government was determined to end hazardous practices in the bid to boost safer mining. He said this would help the miners, the communities and the nation’s economy.

    He advised them against digging without wearing protective clothing, saying they must stop the use of chemicals, such as mercury and cyanide, in their mining activities to prevent what he called grave health issues and pollution of the rivers.

    The medical expert said poor mining activities could lead to serious health conditions such as infertility, severe cough, itching, and can also damage internal organs like the kidneys and the liver. “So you must do everything to protect yourself and to protect the environment.

    Whereas many of the miners knew that poor mining activities could lead to itching and severe cough. But the fact that it could lead to infertility as well as damage internal organs such as liver and kidney was news to many of them. The medical experts took time to explain this to them.

    He also pointed out that operating in a safer environment would boost the productivity of the miners, which in turn would lead to better revenue.

    “Miner should always wear helmet, goggles, face mask, overall, hand gloves, and boots. You must wear these before you start digging and you must not wear them at home. Make sure you remove the protective clothing; take a bath and wear neat clothes back home after work. This is very important. If you go back home with the dust from the site, you can cause trouble for yourself, your family  and the people in the community.

    The highpoint of the event was the presentation of gifts, gadgets and certificates to participants. Aside certificates, miners and their supervisors were given protective items like; helmet, steel toe-boot, rain boots and hand gloves. Other items are; nose mask, reflective jacket and overall.

    Meanwhile, for effective monitoring and supervision, three people, including a traditional ruler, Chief Sunday Ogunsiji, the regent of Epe Ijesha ; the patron of the Artisanal Miners Welfare Association, Chief Friday Israel Mmecha and one of the oldest miners in the state, Abubakar Aliyu, were presented with brand new motorcycles.

    Chief Ogunsiji, who spoke on behalf of others applauded the initiative and pointed out that the intervention would go a long way in redefining the sector. ‘’We are happy this is happening now because we have clamour for government attention for years. The journey, if I may say, began in 1980, when government established a Federal Mining Corporation in Igun, which geared up young men and women within and outside the state on the potential of the area. At the peak of the activities, a Gold Refinery was put up in Osu, beside the local government secretariat. Few years into the activities, with successive administrators and managers, operations at both the corporation and the refinery suddenly stopped and equipment worth millions were left unutilised,’’

    Ogunsiji called on the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to impress it on government on the need to further open up the communities and the gold reserves to drive the economy.

    Patrck Ojeka, an engineer and Director ASM in the Ministry said similar training would soon be replicated in other gold bearing areas, where safe mining is not being practiced.

    Specifically he said the next round of training would be extension services. This, he said involves training of registered ASM on mining methods- all process and health safety in each of the 6 geo political zones of the country.

  • Miners to states: stop interferring in mining

    Miners to states: stop interferring in mining

    The Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged Ebonyi and Lagos states to stop interfering in mining.

    Its President, Alhaji Sani Shehu, who made the call in Abuja, said the two states were interfering with the business of his members.

    According to him, their interference is a breach of the Constitution. He regretted that Lagos had directed his members operating surface mining in Ikorodu Local Government Area to stop because of an environmental issue.

    He advised the state to collaborate with the Mines Environmental Compliance Department of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to solve the problem raised rather than barring the companies from mining.

    On Ebonyi State’s interference, he said it linked the closure of Greenfield Metals Ltd at Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area, to the failure of the company to pay tax.

    Shehu urged Ebonyi to reverse its order as the law did not allow states to collect mineral tax.

    “It is pertinent to state that Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, puts mining on the Exclusive List.

    “It is only the Federal Government that has the right to issue mining licence, collect royalties and supervise mining operations. It can also take necessary action when provision of the mineral act is violated. This position is known to all states in Nigeria.

    “Lagos and Ebonyi states should reverse their orders immediately to avoid constitutional breach, which they have sworn to protect. They should also avoid future unlawful interference in mining,” he said.

    Shehu urged the states to support the Mines and Steel Development Ministry to build a robust mining climate that would create massive jobs for unemployed youths, stating that the states could increase their revenue through the 13 per cent derivation as provided in the Constitution.

  • Govt to end gold mining abuse

    Govt to end gold mining abuse

    The Federal Government will, in the next few months, end the indiscriminate mining and exportation of gold.

    The development is aimed at ensuring that product is well mined, processed, and exported to attract good prices at the international market.

    The Special Assistant on Media to Dr Kayode Fayemi, Minister for Solid Minerals, Mr Yinka Oyebode, said the idea would enable both the private and the public sectors to achieve good profit margins.

    In an interview with The Nation, Oyebode said plans were afoot to improve the mining, export and sale of gold from Nigeria at the international market, adding that the government is experimenting the idea of transforming the process of mining gold, first with two states.

    Oyebode said: “With respect to the issue of mining gold to attract good pricing in the international market, the government has started the pilot studies with Osun and Kebbi states. More would join as time goes on.

    ‘’Hitherto, local miners are selling the product to the Congolese and the Chinese at a ridiculous low price, a development, which informed the decision by the government to try and find solution to the issue.”

    He said pilot studies were taking place, adding that in the next few months, there would more exploration and earnings from the resource.

    According to him, the development would enable the government to improve its earnings in form of royalties from exploration of gold, and help the private sector operators.

    He said solid mineral activities were private sector-driven since  mining and export were handled by private operators, stressing that the government is only providing guidelines on what, where and how things should be done in order to improve the growth of the sector.

    He said the government will allow private sector operators to buy into the initiative to encourage the industry growth.

    “The reasons behind the transformation of the solid minerals sector, especially the gold aspect of it by the Federal Government are many. First is to help in improving the price at which the product is bought at the market,’’ he added.

  • Fayemi: mining regulatory commission coming

    Determined to ensure predictability in its mining sector and boost local and international investments, the Federal Government has concluded arrangements to establish the Nigerian Mining Commission, to take charge of the regulatory role of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.

    The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who disclosed this at the Nigeria Day event at the on going African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, South Africa yesterday, said the law setting up the commission is already with the National Assembly.

    Fayemi spoke as Nigeria took the centre stage at the African Mining Indaba, with the formal presentation of its new Airborne Electromagnetic Survey Results amid endorsements for the country’s mining sector reforms by mining experts, operators and developmental agencies.

    The presentation of the new Airborne Electromagnetic Survey Results, a major high point of yesterday’s event at the conference was witnessed by stakeholders in global mining, including Deputy Minister of Mines and Minerals of Venezuela, Franklin Ramirez Araque;  Australian Ambassador to Nigeria, Paul Lehman, Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Ahmed Musa Ibeto and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry.

    and Senegal.

    Fayemi said government was determine to strengthen regulation in the sector as well as ensure the improvement of  its geological data.

    He said the commission, which would be known as the Nigerian Mining Commission, would not only be the final authority on regulatory matters, it would also take charge of mining leases.

    Fayemi, in an interactive session with investors and the media after the presentation of the new Nigeria Electromagnetic Survey results, said the delivery of the geological data, was in line with government’s desire to ensure bankable geological data, that would be an incentives to investors.

    He stated further that the ministry would undertake more extensive electromagnetic Airborne Geological Survey of  some promising parts of the country this year, as well as the completion of the National Mineral Database.

    He said:  “We want to ensure predictability, that is what we want to offer. We want to be a big mining designation.

    “To achieve this ,we have to put certain things in place, including provable data, sound regulations, capacity building for Artisanal and Small Scale Miners as well as asses to funding.”

  • Mining: Fed Govt to spend N20b on exploration

    Mining: Fed Govt to spend N20b on exploration

    The Federal Government  plans to spend N20b more on data exploration, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development Dr Kayode Fayemi has said.

    The money, he said would employed to further generate information on other aspects of exploration which has been a major challenge in the sector.

    He also revealed that the government has paid for and retrieved arial survey that was conducted years ago, but was not paid for by previous governments, that can now be used by mining investors.

    Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification Project (MINDIVER), done in collaboration with the World Bank, Fayemi said Nigeria now takes the lead in regional efforts to develop mining, especially within the framework of the Africa Mining Vision.

    He said: “It is noteworthy that in addition to funding support from multilateral agencies, partnerships on technical cooperation have also been brokered or re-activated with several foreign governments.

    “Existing technical partnerships have been operationalised with the governments of South Africa, China, Australia, Canada, the UK and US. Nigeria now takes the lead in regional efforts to develop mining, especially within the framework of the Africa Mining Vision., he stated.

    Fayemi said he ministry is finalising plans to spend another N20billon on exploration and the process has just been concluded, saying many of our expert institutions applied and we believe it will lead to further information being generated and further data being provided, in those area of exploration which have been a challenge.

    He said the ministry has  retrieved the Arial survey that was conducted years ago, which was not paid for by government, we finally paud for it and retrieved the data for the use of mining investors.

  • Mining: Govt to save N32b from leakages

    Mining: Govt to save N32b from leakages

    The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a revenue mobilisation strategy that will help the Federal Government save about N32 billion from leakages in the mining sector.

    Minister of Mines and Steel Development Dr Kayode Fayemi revealed this yesterday in Abuja at the launch of the Revenue Optimisation and Verification Project.

    The minister, who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Abdulkadir Muazu, added that 100 consultants have been carefully selected for the project.

    He said: “It is however regrettable that in spite of our good efforts, we still have economic sabouteurs in the sector who wish to undermine efforts of government by failing in their responsibilities to render to the Federation Account its share.

    “Indeed, leakages in government revenue remains a big challenge in the sector, which we are working collaboratively with other government entities and sector stakeholders to fix.

    “I am therefore pleased to announce that following the approval of the National Economic Council (NEC), we are today inaugurating a new model of revenue generation and collection in the mining sector. This entails the engagement of Professional Revenue Consultants who would work with our ministry’s mining officers to identify revenue leakages in the system.

    “The deployment of consultants became imperative considering the funding and manpower challenges of the ministry. The consultants would add value to the ministry’s efforts and contribute the much-needed technical expertise, while also working on a no-win no-fee basis thus costing us nothing upfront.

    “The Revenue Optimisation and Verification Project essentially seeks to confirm the adequacy of royalties’ remittances made by the various operators in the mining industry. They are mandated to collect and analyse data from 2012 – 2017 in the course of their work, thus giving us the opportunity to demand and receive accruals due to government from the referenced period. It would also ensure compliance of all operators to paying the correct amount in royalties to the government coffers going forward.

    “The Revenue Optimisation and Verification exercise will be carried out in line with the provisions of Section 17 of the Nigeria Mineral and Mining Act of 2007 which empowers the Mining Inspectorate Division of the Ministry to supervise and enforce compliance of laws and also section 43 of the Nigeria Mineral and Mining Act of 2007 which mandates mining operators to keep and supply records upon request by the ministry.

    “The primary functions of the consultants in collaboration with the Mining Officers will be data gathering, which will assist the Ministry in identifying revenue leakages and providing long term revenue solutions to sustain and improve the revenue yield. To this end, we have carefully selected about 100 consultants who met very stringent conditions, and are being put through extensive training before deployment in the coming days.”

    The Project Coordinator and Senior Special Adviser to the Minister on Revenue Mobilisation, Makinde Araoye, said the Federal Government targetted the recovery of N32 billion in 2018.

    He added that after the discovery by Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) of the N54b being leaked out of the system from illegal operations, the government was looking to regularise the informal players in the sector.

    Fayemi added: “According to the last report by NEITI, it discovered that about N54b is being leaked out of the system from illegal operations; so, we are looking at about N45b to N50b in leakages in the system, for this particular project, we have a target of about N32b.

    “The National Economic Council (NEC) actually approved this project for an initial one year, so this one year we expect to raise about N32b and the project officially kicks off today. What we are trying to do is regulate the informal sector of mines and steel, their are a lot of informal operators out there, this exercise is not only to raise revenue but to regularise the informal players in the sector.

    “We have some players that actually pay their dues but we will still have to check their books to ensure that everyone pays adequately. The law supports this programme that we are doing, so the law is clear that defaulters, the mining inspectorate office will send the enforcement to make sure they comply with the law.”

  • Mining: Govt engages consultants to boost earnings

    The Federal Government has engaged the services of about 100 revenue consultants to work on areas of leakages in the revenue accruing from the mining sector.

    The consultants, who would be deployed to the six geo-political zones of the country in the coming weeks, are to examine financial and production records of companies involved in mining  in the last six years, to determine whether appropriate royalties were remitted to government.

    The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who stated this during the opening of a three-day induction and training for the Revenue Consultants in Abuja, yesterday, said the main target of the ministry was to ensure that the Federation Account gets its fair due in royalties and taxes.

  • Fayemi canvasses removal of mining from exclusive list

    Fayemi canvasses removal of mining from exclusive list

    Minister of Mines and Steel Development Dr. Kayode Fayemi has canvassed an urgent review of the country’s laws to allow states play more prominent roles in mining issues as a necessary step in making the mineral and mining sector more profitable.

    Minister stated this in his keynote address at the fifth annual lecture of the School of Management Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), on Friday.

    Fayemi, in the lecture, titled: “Mineral resource management for national cohesion and progress”, said the present situation where state governments were not adequately involved in the administration of mineral titles despite bearing the brunt of impact of resource exploitation, grossly affect growth of the sector.

    He said the country needed to take a cue from her experience in the oil rich Niger Delta, where oil riches rather than cementing national cohesion, became a source of discord and a toxic bone of contention in the polity and where decades of oil exploitation have resulted in a legacy of ecological degradation, trans generational poverty and violence.

    “The critical difference between resource-rich performers and resource-rich underperformers is simply resource management. We must now end this grossly self-destructive culture of governmental, economic and political irresponsibility,” he said.

    Although the minister said the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has put in place some administrative measures to involve the states and ensure they take advantage of the resources in their domains, he maintained that a review of the laws giving the Federal Government exclusive rights over mining must be effected in order for states to play more prominent roles.

    Fayemi, however, assured that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has the political will and the preparedness to do what is necessary in this regard.

    The minister also said government needs to create about two million jobs annually in the next decade in order to effectively tackle the menace of unemployment among its teeming youths. He added that mining would help in in the realisation of this massive job creation through the ongoing reforms in the sector.

     

  • Mining: Good roadmap, slow implementation

    Mining: Good roadmap, slow implementation

    Mining has immense capacity to dislodge oil as the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy. But moves by the Federal Government to diversify its revenue base with the implementation of the roadmap for the sector’s development seem slow in yelding the desired results.  Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA writes on experts’ call for the translation of policy pronouncements into concrete actions. 

    MINERALS FOUND IN COMMERCIAL QUANTITY

    •Coal
    •Limestone •Lead/Zinc
    •Bitumen
    •Barite
    •Gold
    •Iron ore

    DESPERATE to diversify the economy from oil, the Federal Government unveiled two roadmaps for the mining within four years. The roadmaps – the first in April 2012 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the other in September 2016 – were launched to stimulate rapid growth in the sector, often described as Nigeria’s goldmine.

    The activities and time frame for their implementation were clearly spelt out in the second roadmap unlike in the former. The 2016 roadmap also created scenarios and models for its successful implementation and monitoring of activities.

    Besides, it developed a consensus strategy for the buy-in of all stakeholders. In what many view as a clear departure from the 2012 roadmap, the new document showed government’s determination to create an independent regulator outside of the ministry.

    But contrary to the conception, the ministry doubles as the facilitator for business opportunities in the industry and the regulator, resulting in conflicts of regulatory functions.

    The regulatory agency was billed to be made up of the Inspectorate and Environmental Compliance departments of the ministry, with the Artisans and Small Scale units of the ministry forming part of the regulatory agency.

    The 2016 roadmap had a commitment to grow the sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to about three per cent by 2025.

    It went a notch higher by identifying seven strategic minerals of commercial quantity to be given priority including, coal, limestone, lead/zinc, bitumen, barite, gold and iron ore.

    The Partner/Mining Industry Leader, PwC Nigeria, Mr. Cyril Azobu, the 2016 roadmap seems to be more articulating. “It clearly determines what particular strategy we need to deploy in achieving that roadmap; it looks at across a chain from institution building to stakeholder management to management of players in the sector, funding  etc,” he told The Nation.

    Azobu, other industry experts and stakeholders see the constitution of the Mining Implementation and Strategy Team (MIST) as the icing on the cake

    He said: “I like the composition of the team because it included private sector players mostly and other stakeholders within the entire sector.”

    Unfortunately, the 2016 roadmap is giving way to apprehension and the excitement generated by the establishment of the MIST is fast fading. More than a year after the launch, the mining sector has not gathered enough steam to drive the Federal Government’s economic diversification agenda.

    There has been growing apprehension in the industry that the country is not keeping faith with the implementation the roadmap’s strategic actions. Many argue that the road ought to have been implemented given the government’s desire to diversifying the economy.

    Describing the development as discouraging, Azobu said: “It is one thing to have a roadmap and another thing to implement it. That is why I am saying that there could be a bit more work; there could be more action. It could be faster. And like all public sector-driven enterprises, once you get into another round of elections, the general belief is that things will slow down.”

    In times past, general elections were usually preceded by lull in government activities and there is nothing to suggest that the 2019 elections will be an exemption as subtle politicking has started even with the elections almost two years away.

    Some experts and stakeholders are urging the mining implementation team to ensure the implementation of the roadmap.  Many of them say the team should take the roadmap’s objectives determine who is responsible for what.

    Allegations are raging that the unprofessional management of the roadmap’s implementation, thus foreclosing the tracking of its achievements’ objectives. Azobu said: “It’s not peculiar to mining, its everywhere. It is always implementation of policies. If you talk about policies, we have very good policies. We’ve got policies, we’ve got regulations.

    “The regulatory and legal framework is actually tight, but move beyond policies, move beyond thoughts to execution and find a very good communication strategy that showcases that something is happening such that even if it is going to take a long time, we can actually track progress.”

    Describing the government’s on-going efforts at opening up the mining sector as “commendable,” the expert said he hopes to see at least some story-telling projects in the sector.

    “We know how the story of cement changed from the production side, but we don’t tell the story from the mining side. If there was no limestone and gypsum, which are inputs to cement production, it could not have happened,” he pointed out.

    Azobu said the same way the cement space was opened up from the downstream side by exploring the value chain, he expects to see a steel industry that is not heavily dependent on the importation of billets; a steel industry that is not dependent on use of scraps that are here and there.

    Observers describe as unfortunate that a country having the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASC) in Kogi State, spend an estimated $3.3 billion annually on the importation of steel products.

    ASC is arguably Africa’s largest integrated steel complex. The ASC, which is believed to hold the key to Nigeria’s industrialisation, has remained comatose for decades. The National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) in Itakpe, Kogi State has not fared any better.

    Rather than meet the nation’s steel needs, NIOMCO and ASC have been subjected to litigation between the Federal Government and their former managers.

    The management of Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL) has faulted Dr. Fayemi’s statement, which it noted could mislead stakeholders.

    A rebuttal signed by Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL’s) Director, S.O. Nwabuokei, urged the minister to set the records straight, stating: “Although, the company expects to be party to the resolution so referred to, we are not aware that the Ajaokuta Steel Company issue has been resolved.

    Nwabuokei, who was a former Joint Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Delta Steel Company Plc, however, said that GSHL was aware that the delay in resolving the matter was not caused by the company.

    According to him, the company has been open to and cooperated in all the requisite terms precedent to an amicable resolution of the matter.

    Nwabuokei said: “We put in all our efforts to conclude the Due Diligence process in the National Ore Mining Company, Itakpe (NIOMCO) with the conviction that the next phases of compliance with the terms of the International Court of Arbitration would be speedily determined. We regret that this has not been the case.”

    Even if the ownership of ASC has been reverted to Nigeria as claimed by the minister, the Federal Government has not decided on how to attract core investors with the financial and technical capacity to run the steel complex.

    Yet, the colossal waste, which the multi-billion naira ASC has become, is not the only sore point in the country’s drive for industrialisation.

    At the last count, the country has over 44 mineral deposits across the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

    But, despite the God-given endowments, the government has not done much to leverage on the resources to boost its revenue and improve on the lives of the people.

    The lack of sense of urgency in matching intensions with actions, particularly in the implementation of the mining sector roadmap has continued to hold the sector down.

    Already, there are fears that Nigeria’s target of growing the mining sector’s GDP contribution from the current 0.5 to three per cent by 2025 may not be realised, unless the authorities put some speed in the implementation of the roadmap.

    A Lagos-based lawyer, Obiora Akabogu, lamented that Nigeria has not been moving fast enough in the area of diversifying the economy by riding on the back of a vibrant mining sector.

    Akabogu, who public affairs analyst, described the slow pace of implementation of the roadmap as “suicidal.”

    While blaming the snail speed implementation on lack of requisite political will to translate policy statements into concrete actions, Akabogu suggested certain things that could be done through executive fiat to fast-track the implantation process.

    He said that the Presidency could forward a bill to the National Assembly for modification or necessary amendment of the nation’s extant mining laws with a view to removing the hindrances to the maximisation of the industry’s huge but largely untapped potential.

    But it is doubtful if industry operators and stakeholders are impressed by the avalanche of policy pronouncements for the sector.

    They described the N30 billion approved by the Federal Government as Mining Intervention Fund (MIF) as grossly insufficient.

    Yet, a significant proportion of the fund was supposed to be used in geo data gathering, which has been identified as a major barrier to investments in the sector.

     

    South Africa digs in

     

    South Africa has been smiling to the bank with proceeds from the mining industry when Nigeria’s mineral resources suffer inattention.

    This was sequel to the Rainbow nation’s mining industry’s return to profitability after the first substantial increase in revenues in five years, supported by spot price increases for bulk commodities.

    This was highlight from PwC’s ninth edition of SA Mine, a series of publications that highlights trends in the South African mining industry released by the audit and advisory firm, last week.

    PwC Africa Energy Utilities & Resources Leader, Michal Kotzé, said the current year saw prices recover for most commodities with the exception of platinum. This was after the price lows of December 2015 and January 2016.

    The report, made available to The Nation, said that South Africa’s mining revenue increased by 13 per cent to R43 billion from the prior year.

    “It is notable that this is the first substantial increase in more than five years,” PwC Assurance Partner Andries Rossouw said.

    While Nigeria is said to be losing a whopping N8 trillion annually in unexploited gold alone, South Africa’s gold companies’ earnings jumped by 17 per cent (about R23 billion) due to improvements in gold prices and a weaker rand for most of the reporting period.

    The SA Mine report said that coal maintained its strong position as the leading South African mining commodity revenue generator. Despite its percentage of revenue generated remaining unchanged at 27 per cent, it increased total revenue to R119 billion from the prior year’s R105 billion.

    The report attributed the return to profitability partly to the adoption of emerging technologies in the mining industry.

    According to the report, “technological advancements have spurred innovation and new ideas in the mining industry. A number of mining companies have adopted emerging technologies.

    It went further: “The use of remotely-piloted as well as autonomous drones to survey opencast mines is a common example of the adoption of emerging technology. Mines are also using autonomous drilling, proximity devices, collision awareness systems for mine vehicles and trucks, cloud and mobility solutions.”

    The report also considered the regulatory changes in the country It noted that despite the various challenges, the government has taken a number of steps to make mining more attractive for investments with clear regulatory policies and operationalising the existing ones.

    “There are still a number of challenges in the sector ranging from insufficient infrastructure as well as regulatory conflicts. The sector realises it needs to align itself with world trends and norms, especially around the future demand for various minerals,” the report said.

    More than a year after the launch of the 2016 roadmap, insufficient infrastructure and regulatory conflicts have not been addressed.

     

    The Australian model

     

    The minister recommended Australia’s mining sector model, which, according to him, accounts for 8.5 per cent of the country’s GDP, compared to Nigeria’s 0.3 per cent. The mining industry in Australia, which is said to be one of the world’s leading mineral nations, provides over 750,000 jobs to her citizens.

    The Australian government, working with other companies, developed its mining sector. It initiated a number of reforms to encourage flexibility and productivity.

    The country’s tax reforms, he said, allowed new industries, thus helping it to remain competitive in a fast growing global economy.

    Although, Nigeria has great similarities with Australia in terms of natural resources, healthy and fertile land, the growth of Australia’s economy has taken place through the transformation of its natural resources.

    Australian’s mining boom, which began 10 years ago, was triggered by an extraordinary rise in world commodity prices, arising from a strong demand for raw commodities in fast growing Asian economies, notably China and India

    Will the experience of South Africa, Australia and other mining hubs across the globe galvanise Nigeria into putting some action to her roadmap for the development of the mining sector? Will the authorities keep faith with the economic diversification agenda by translating policy pronouncements into concrete and practical actions?

    As these questions remain conjectures, what is clear is that doing so has become imperative in view of the shift in thinking among policy makers and Nigerians towards other sources of revenue besides oil and gas. And the consensus is that the mining sector is well-positioned to achieve this objective, if it is fully harnessed.