Nigeria Cracks Down on Defaulting Mining Title Holders

The Nigerian government has recently revoked a total of 1,633 mining titles, encompassing exploration licences, quarry licences, small-scale mining licences, and mining leases, on account of defaulting on statutory annual service fees. This action aligns with the stipulations of the country’s mining law, which mandates that title holders must remit the annual service fee or face revocation of their titles. Minister of Mines, Dele Alake, has confirmed that a mere 580 out of the 2,213 titles earmarked for revocation managed to settle their debts following a mandatory 30-day notice period, which concluded on November 10th. This decision reflects the government’s commitment to purify the mining industry and elevate it to a position of international competitiveness, with the ultimate goal of attracting more investors to develop Nigeria’s underdeveloped mining sector.

Despite Nigeria’s abundant resources such as gold, limestone, and zinc, as well as its status as Africa’s foremost oil producer, the mining industry contributes less than 1% to the country’s gross domestic product. In a concerted effort to diversify its economy away from its reliance on oil, Nigeria disclosed plans in September to establish a state-backed company with the purpose of attracting investments for the extraction of gold, coal, iron-ore, baryte, lead, bitumen, and limestone. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to accelerate the growth and development of the mining sector in Nigeria.