The minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake has described Nigeria as Africa’s choice mining investment destination, emphasising incentives and policies promoting ease of doing business in the mining sector.
Alake made this comment while virtually addressing the Nigeria-Australia Investment Roundtable, according to a statement by the minister’s media assistant, Segun Tomori.
The minister urged his audience to make Nigeria their choice investment destination, reiterating the commitment of the Tinubu administration to providing incentives and removing impediments to ease of doing business.
“Australians seeking to expand their mining portfolio to Africa should prioritise Nigeria in view of our positive investment-friendly policies and ongoing rapid transformation. Many of the heavy equipment imported for mining can be evaluated to qualify for tax waivers and exemption from import duties. Nigeria also has a favourable funds and capital repatriation policy that ensures investors’ funds are not trapped”, the minister asserted.
Highlighting efforts to combat illegal mining and insecurity around mining areas, Alake cited the establishment of the 2,220-strong elite para-military force tagged “Mining Marshals” made up of a 60-man rapid response squad, deployed in each of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
“Illegal mining is not just unlicensed mining. It covers licensed miners operating with invalid licences or licensed miners operating outside their coordinates or mining minerals not approved in their licences. The specialised mining marshals have in the little time of operations discouraged illegal mining, brought relief to recognised miners and is clamping down on those involved in nefarious activities around mining areas across the country”, he said.
Alake assured Australian investors that plans for the establishment of the private sector-led Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation had reached an advanced stage, and that the corporation will enter into joint ventures with serious investors on critical minerals like Lithium, Gold, Baryte Lead, and Iron-ore amongst others.
“Both the legislative and corporate processes for the establishment of the corporation have reached appreciable stages. I hope to invite you to the formal unveiling of Nigeria’s intervention in the international mining business very soon”, he added.
On strengthening regulatory frameworks, the Minister revealed that after the revocation of 1,633 titles for defaulting in payment of annual service fees, scrutiny has been extended to other categories of defaulters in a bid to tackle indiscriminate speculation, licence racketeering and the menace of those that obtained licences over the years but would not move to site.
He went on: “We have raised the approval level of permits and licences for buying minerals; export of minerals and operation of mineral processing centres whilst also authorising the publication of the monthly digest of mining statistics to keep the sector abreast of developments.”
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