Nigeria: FG approves new mining policy
Published by MAC on 2008-02-22
Nigeria: FG approves new mining policy
22nd February 2008
by Daniel Idonor, Daily Champion (Lagos)
The Federal Executive Council has approved a new Mining and Metal Policy for the country, just as the Minister of Mines and Steel, Mr. Sharafat Ishola said that over 2300 mining licenses have been issued without his consent or that of minister of state.
Addressing State House correspondents after yesterday's meeting in Abuja, Ishola said the country lost over $100million in revenue to the activities of illegal miners.
According to the minister, the mining policy would provide a road map in the country's mining sector.
He accused previous governments in the country of paying lip service to the issue of diversifying the country's revenue earning base from oil, adding that if properly handled the country stand to gain a lot from the mining sector, comparable to the oil and gas sectors.
The minister said the last policy in the sector was formulated in 1964 while provisions of the Mining Act 2007 had been incorporated into the new policy.
"You would have noted that since 1981 when the then National Assembly passed the Economic Stabilisation Act, we have been paying lips service to the development of the solid minerals. Quite often we say we need to diversify the base of our mono-product economy from oil to other sources but we had challenges actualising this mandate" he pointed out.
Some of the objectives of the new mining policy, the minister said were to produce coal for power generation, engender agricultural and fertiliser production as well as incorporate artisans in the mining sector into the mainstream of mining.
" Nigeria arguably today has about 27 billion tones of bitumen that is 27 billion barrels of oil equivalent in Nigeria . This has been there but there have been challenges, but just yesterday, Mr. President constituted an inter-ministerial committee to facilitate this comprising the ministry of petroleum, advisers, attorney general of the federation and ministry of mines and steel so that we will be able to reconcile whatever issues happened on inter-ministerial basis. The steel industry will be grown to the position that they will be able to provide the usual steel and aluminum to be used in our country's road, rails and others" he said.
He said a Mineral Resources Committee would be set up to be headed by eminent Nigerians to liaise with the agencies of the federal government on getting titles for land for mineral exploitation.
He said the Nigerian Institute of Mines will be upgraded to the Nigerian Institute of Geosciences in order to address the issue of lower and middle level manpower to service the sector.