The Federal Government of Nigeria has revoked 2,531 mineral titles due to payment default and inactivity over the past year.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake, during the Sectoral Updates Series to mark the first anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
The minister’s presentation document seen by Nairametrics read: “The efforts to sanitise its operations led to two revocation exercises. The revocation of 1,619 titles that defaulted in payment of their Annual Service Fees and 912 dormant (inactive) mineral titles.”
Online application for mineral titles
Alake highlighted the comprehensive efforts made by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to enhance service delivery and increase revenue generation.
The minister revealed that the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) has undergone significant repositioning in the last 12 months, particularly with the development of the eMC+ software for mineral title application.
Other key modifications include the completion of e-Recording and Archiving of Mineral Title documents, acquisition, geo-referencing and geocoding of topographic maps of Nigeria, and the production of thematic mapping of mineral title restricted areas.
These initiatives have led to improved confidence in the system, evidenced by the substantial increase in applications.
According to the minister, the MCO received 10,534 applications within the period under review. This includes 4,651 unassisted online submissions and 5,883 MCO online-assisted submissions.
Additionally, 3,177 companies submitted mineral title applications, of which 3,084 were local companies, and 93 had international affiliations.
559 new applications in April 2024
The minister also noted that 559 new applications were received in April 2024, and the MCO issued 40 new exploration licenses, 71 new small-scale mining licenses, and four new mining leases in the last year.
Consequently, 258 new operational mining and quarrying companies have commenced operations, employing over 9,030 people.
The document read: “These measures have led to increased confidence in the system and more applications. Within the period under review, the Office received 10,534 applications out of which 4,651 applications were received unassisted Online submissions while 5,883 were MCO Online assisted submissions.
“Also, a total of 3,177 companies submitted Mineral Title applications for both new Titles and modification of existing Titles. Of these companies; 3,084 were local companies while 93 were companies with international affiliations. In the month of April 2024, not less than 559 new applications were received via the eMC+. The MCO issued 40 new Exploration licences, 71 new Small Scale Mining Licences and Four new Mining Leases.
“These figures show a significant increase in investment in the sector. These licensees have gone to start and commenced operations. In the last year, not less than 258 new operational Mining and Quarrying Companies employing over 9,030 people have commenced operations. Compared with 134 new operational Mining/Quarrying Companies with 4,690 employment generation in the corresponding period 2022/2023, 126 more companies have joined and are providing jobs for 4,340 more persons.”
On the amount of revenue generated from the applications, the sector generated N6.2 billion from May 2023 to April 2024, surpassing the previous year’s revenue by 59.6%.
The total revenue collected within the period (May 2023 and April 2024) was N16.4 billion, while N14.94 billion was generated for the year 2023, representing a 172.1% performance compared to the annual budgetary target of N8.6 billion for 2023.