The Federal Government on Monday lamented that it has lost trillions of naira as a result of illegal mining operators especially in the states.
The government also said that it has arrested and prosecuted four foreigners engaged in illegal mining operators, while 320 people have been arrested by Mining Marshals.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Minister also stated the Federal Government has faced challenges in fully controlling gold mining, particularly in northern Nigeria, due to cultural sensitivities.
Dr. Alake revealed that the council has approved a new initiative to enhance regulation and curb revenue losses in the sector.
As part of the initiative, he said the government will deploy satellite technology to monitor key mining sites and track activities in real-time.
Alake further stated that the Federal Government prefers to collaborate with state governments in mineral-rich areas to prevent unregulated mining operations and ensure proper oversight.
On the arrests so far made, he said: “The number of foreigners apprehended at the last count, we’ve had about four, I wouldn’t want to mention the nationalities of the foreigners that have been apprehended, prosecuted and convicted. And the Mine Marshals had the last couple of months apprehended over 320 illegal operators. Out of this, about 150 are undergoing prosecution as we speak and about nine have been convicted fully, while about four foreigners have also been convicted fully. So the work is going on pari parsue with the technology that we want to introduce.”
Briefing on the memo he presented to the Council, the Minister said: “Today at FEC a memo was approved for the Solid Minerals ministry specifically to procure an integrated solution framework to combat unlicensed, unregulated, under reported mining activities, which had led to serious notorious effect in terms of revenue leakages, illegal operations and illegal extraction and exploitation of our minerals.
“So what this integrated solution framework actually means is that you recall that on assumption of duty, when we surveyed the landscape of the sector we recognize identify those diverse communities and we started putting policy initiative in place , one of which is the establishment of the mining Marshalls to combat illegal mining
“Our approach was two pronged one was persuasive. The other coercive , the persuasive was appealing to the sense of responsibility of artisanal miners and the so called illegal miners appealing to them to form cooperatives. Because when they do form cooperatives, they become structured, formalized and legalized, and their operation can now add some value even to the nation.
“They can even have access to financial institutions to procure loans to expand their businesses. And of course, once they become legalized and structured, it means they have to pay their obligations to the Nigerian state, and so that’s a persuasive aspect of our strategy.
“When I launched that last year, we have been able to persuade these so called
illegal and artisanal miners to form over 300 cooperative societies. Now, been formed, and they are fully legalized, fully structured, and contributing meaningfully to the economy.
“And of course, because they won’t be labeled illegal operators anymore. They will not have to look over their shoulders so this persuasive strategy has really been working it is very gratifying to know people are responding.”
Answering questions on the benefits deployment of satellite technology to monitor key mining sites and track activities in real-time and as well as the time it will take off, Dr. Alake said that how soon it would take off was dependent on Mobilisation.
He, however said in a maximum of one month, they should be on the field, because a timeline and timeframe have been given to them.
He said: “I mean government interest to ensure that their mobilization is done very fast, because the prices they quoted, which were reviewed downwards, actually would also not be static, because of the vagaries of fluctuation in the economy, the global economy.
“Most of these gadgets are not made in Nigeria. They have to be imported. So giving consideration to price fluctuations is in our best interest to ensure that they are funded, mobilized quickly, so that they start before prices begin to change. And they’re asking for any review, so we are looking at a month maximum for them to be on the field.
“Now as to the issue of direct benefits, in fact, the benefits are just too many, too varied and variant to start enumerating. One, I did say that this will combat unregulated mining activities, unlicensed mining operators under reporting of even the production at mining sites.
“In the past, a very elementary estimate, non scientific estimate that we did 2023 immediately we resumed, revealed trillions that had been lost by the nation through this unregulated, under reporting and unlicensed activities in the mining sector.
“Somebody mentioned gold. I should tell you how much the nation has gotten in gold. You should ask me how much the nation has lost in gold, because it’s humongous. It’s mind boggling, it’s unheard of.
“And why? Because we have a very vast territory, and that is what is also affecting even security. Nigeria is so vast, so to police every inch of our large territory is almost impossible. So all we have to do is to introduce technological gadgets that can enable us to see what’s going on, even in the remotest parts of the country.
“So the benefits in terms of revenue, once we identify a revenue leakage and is plugged, what happens, the revenue starts coming into government. So it’s really humongous. If we are going by the estimate of losses, which is in trillions, then we can fairly accurately, project the revenue that we are going to derive from all these projects when they are fully on street, it will be mind boggling as well.”
On the proposed establishment of Nigerian Mining Corporation, the Minister said that the process of setting it up was going.
“In fact, as we are here sitting, the Committee is meeting right in my conference room, in the office. Now, the President has also graciously approved the appointment of the CEO of that company. And his name is Martin’s imoniti.
“He was head hunted from Australia. Australia is one of the biggest mining countries in the world, and from Western Australia, particularly, he has been in the finance sector of mining in Australia. So all the big players in the region and the mining in the world, they are at his tips, and we had to head hunt him to come and take off this Nigerian minerals corporation.
“So it’s going on very, very well. In fact, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MORFI) is going to midwife it For starters, don’t forget that I announced that it will be substantially controlled or managed by the private sector. The equity structure that we have laid out will be 50 percent to the private sector, 25 percent to the government of federation, and 25 percent to individuals.”
Fielding questions on the state involvement in mining which is in the exclusive legislative list, Alake said: “This is a very important point you’ve mentioned, governors interfering in maybe banning mining activities or sealing up mining companies and all of that.
“I’ve been in a running battle with the state authorities on this very sensitive issue. Now we run the federalism, at least we are called the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and there is clear separation of powers in the Constitution. There is exclusive list which belongs to the purview of the federal government. There is a residual list which belongs to the state, and there is a concurrent.
“Now, the concurrent is where two interests, state and the federal colide. But even in the concurrent, if such a colition of occurs, the federal government takes precedence in terms of authority. So mining minerals, whether liquid, whether solid, belongs exclusively in the purview of the federal government.
“I have met the governors. I’ve had a meeting with the governors at their Secretariat organized by the chairman of the governor’s forum, the governor of Kwara. 32 of them were present, and I had a very robust exchange with them. And I told them, some of them didn’t feign ignorance of constitutional separation of powers, and I assume that all governors have attornies general, except those attornies general are not living up to their billing.
“But I did explain to them this exclusivity of the mining sector as belonging to the purview of the federal government, and a lot of them understood, but there is a sensitivity giving the peculiarity of our environment, political environment, social environment, cultural environment, which we recognize, and I particularly will not be to heat up the quality unnecessary.
“I’ve had a lot of calls, even from the media, calling on me to confront this governor, confront that governor. That is not how to do it. I rather will engage with them. Each of the governors has come up with such outlandish policies and all that. I’ve had to call, I’ve had to engage with I have to enlighten, educate, in some instances, and we’ve been able to resolve all these contentious issues. So the engagement is a continuous process.
“However, because of the sensitivity like I told you, we are willing to bend over backwards, and we have done so. And I told the governors when I met them, we know that you own the soil. You own the land according to the land use decree, state own the land. Now a potential miner will need to obtain the consent of the host community, a letter of consent, which is a requirement for us approving titles licenses. Now that gives up the some room for the states to exercise or exact some authority over land.
“However, the Nigerian mining Act 207 also stipulates that whereas wherever there is mineral, that particular spot belongs to the federal government. So that also removes the authority of the state. But even then, we are not going by that. We want to accommodate everybody. So i announced to the governors that look, you have this land, you have the minerals situated in your various states.
“Now, what stops you as a state from forming an SPV, a special purpose vehicle, like a company, to apply for mining license of a site in your own state, and I will approve so as to get them involved, give them a sense of belonging.”
“So it is not an us versus them situation, because this is a commonwealth for all of us, and we want first communities to benefit, want the state to benefit and the federal government to benefit, which cuts across all Nigerians, and they bought into it in the last time so many of them have applied, I have approved their licenses for them.
“Any state that applies for a license to operate, I approve immediately. And Mr President, gave me approval to give them the licenses and it’s even better for us, because they own the land. They operate on their land, so they will operate in a more environmentally sustainable manner, because they will not want to damage or degrade their own environment themselves.”
