The Federal Government has announced an upward review of 268 mining items’ rates and charges to improve service delivery in the departments and agencies of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, while announcing this on Thursday at a press briefing in Abuja, explained that the government is taking a major step in the efforts to implement the seven-point agenda to position the sector for economic consolidation and international competitiveness by announcing a new regime of rates and charges for various services of the departments and agencies of the ministry.
He also added that this is in view of the introduction of qualitative measures and human and technological capacity upgrades implemented in recent times to raise the level of technical efficiency of the services, improve the traffic of transactions and develop infrastructures to cope with the resurgence of business interests in the sector.
He cited instances such as the supervised successful implementation and conclusion of the mineral sector support for economic diversification, and miniver project.
“Examples include the mining cadastral office, the agency responsible for licensing, which acquired the new mining information system, the emc+ portal.”
“This enabled a 24-hour application and administration system that accelerated the rate of applications and access of applicants to the MCO.
“Furthermore, it has improved transparency and accountability thus giving stakeholders worldwide the confidence to invest in the Nigerian mining sector.”
“The Nigerian geological survey agency acquired an integrated geological database available and accessible to the public.
“This facility, known as the data centre, has made the acquisition of geological information easier for companies embarking on exploration.”
The Minister also noted that the artisanal and small-scale miners department acquired the first electronic inventory of operators through the mindiver project making it easier for the department to provide training and extension services and improve government support to artisanal miners co-operatives.
“Beyond the impact on these agencies, the World Bank loan, through the mindiver project, established a system for the estimation and assessment of revenues from the mining sector, established fiscal accountability and transparent framework for the solid minerals development fund and developed local supply chain for industrial minerals.”
“Since the activation of these systems, all the stakeholders in the mining sector have been enjoying the improved services but at the rates in force before the services were provided.
“It is therefore equitable that those who use these services to invest in the mining sector and make profits from it should be on the frontlines of the government’s efforts to recoup rather than pass it to poor Nigerians.”
“Thus, in line with the powers conferred on me by the Mining and minerals act 2007, i set up a committee of the directors of departments and directors-general of agencies under the ministry and charged them with the mandate to work out new rates to justify governments’ investment in the service infrastructures and to cope with the expected meteoric spike in the traffic of applicants besieging the regulatory machinery.”
“The major highlights are as follows applicants for mining lease will pay N3 million; reconnaissance permit, N300,000; exploration licence, N600,000; small scale mining licence, n300,000, quarry lease, N600,000 and water user permit, N300,000;
“Annual service fee is now N31,500 per cadastral unit for the first time, small-scale mining. N260,000; quarry lease, N500,000 and mining lease, N1,250,000”
“Penalties for late renewal of mineral titiles: reconnaissance permit, N600,000; exploration licence, N1,500,000; mining lease, N3,000,000 and quarry lease, N1,500,000.
“Royalty rate per standard weight of minerals will now cost 100 per cent more. Baryte, with N42,000 as market value per tonne attracts N2,100 royalty; coal, with N100,000 per tonne market value attracts N3,000; gold, with N1,081,200 per ounce as market value attracts N36,436 royalty per tonne; lead/zinc concentrate with 480,000 per tonne as market value attracts a royalty of n14,400 per tonne.
“Lithium ore (lepidolite) at the current market value of N600,000 per tonne, attracts N18,000 royalty per tonne; lithium (kunzite) with current market value at n3million per tonne, attracts N90,000 royalty per tonne and lithium ore, (spodumene) with current market value of N316,667 per tonne attracts N9,500 royalty per tonne.”
“Licence to manufacture explosives now costs N20 million, modifying explosives, N10 million and sale of explosives for mining, N500,000.
“Investors willing to obtain licence to refine gold will pay N5 million and permit to operate a mineral processor costs N100,000.
“Mineral resources map of Nigeria will cost N500,000 and the Geological Map of Nigeria now costs N300,000.
Alake reiterated that as part of governance procedures, the Ministry held a stakeholders summit to sensitise the concerned public to the impending reforms.