Mines Ministry, LCCI call for more investments in mining sector

By Matthew Eloyi

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development have both called for increased investment in the country’s mining sector in order to unlock non-oil economic potential and increase export capacity.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, speaking at a mining and solid minerals conference in Lagos with the theme “Solid Minerals: The Foreign Exchange Game Changer,” said the sector had been overlooked in discussions about reducing Nigeria’s reliance on oil and gas. He urged the financial sector to invest in the mining sector in order to positively impact the country’s economy, stressing that a sustainable and well-governed mining sector with good investment inflows was critical to a diversified economy beyond oil in the current economic environment.

Adegbite, however, noted that the success of the industry’s rebuilding to reach the transformational aim of shared mining prosperity hinged on the involvement of all stakeholders, particularly the lively financing community. He mentioned that the government’s National Integrated Mineral Exploration Program (NIMEP), which is nearing completion, will give trustworthy geo-data for investment decision-making.

The program, he claims, has revealed new investment potential in gold, lead, zinc, battery materials, barite, and iron ore.

The theme, according to LCCI President Dr Michael Olawale-Cole, was to encourage stakeholders’ interaction among federal regulatory authorities, financial institutions, and mining industry practitioners to address the sector’s untapped prospects.

This, he said, could elevate the sector to become a major foreign exchange earner for the government.

“A recent report by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) indicates that revenue from the solid minerals sector to the Federation Account rose by 54 per cent in 2020 to N128 billion compared to N75 billion recorded in 2019.

“The fourth quarter (Q4) 2021 report on foreign trade by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the value of total trade in solid minerals in Q4, 2021 stood at N43.37 billion representing 0.37 per cent of total trade in Q4, 2021.

“Solid minerals exports in Q4, 2021 stood at N13.56billion, a decrease of 25.95 per cent compared to Q3, 2021 but increase by 201.41 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020.

“These are confirmations about the potential in the solid minerals sector yet untapped,” he said.

Olawale-Cole recommended the need to address issues of fragmented legislative framework of the 1999 Constitution.

He also stressed the need to establish a robust fiscal framework for investors and address the bottlenecks due to the multi-agencies regulatory structure in the sector.

Chairman, Solid Minerals and Allied Services Group of LCCI, Otunba Babatunde Alatise, said: “I am deeply worried, but not surprised about the consistent and unrelenting activities of illegal miners across Nigeria.

“It must be a cause for great concern for any reasonable Nigerian, especially now that crude oil is hovering between zero Dollars and below cost price.

“Obviously, the diversification drive of the Federal Government is geared towards agriculture and solid minerals, and the recent upsurge in illegal mining activities is a threat to the N20 billion GDP target set out by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, who is taking the bull by the horns.”

Alatise, who is also member of the ministerial committee on the optimisation of revenue from mineral resources by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in Nigeria, said he was very worried and concerned about the fact that his industry is being trivialised by lack of decisive action on the part of the Federal Government.