THIS DAY
Edo state has outperformed Ogun and Kogi, two states that have traditionally dominated the mining sector, with the Dangote Group extending its control of the solid minerals industry to 54.2 per cent.
This information was contained in the 2023 Solid Minerals Industry Audit report just released by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in Abuja.
The solid minerals audit sector report contains the outcome from the reconciliation of financial flows, tax and non-tax payments and other payments mandated by relevant Nigerian laws, together with the ‘physical’ and ‘process’ activities in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector in the year under review.
During the period, a total of 2,833 licences were issued, the report said, a 114 per cent increase in licences given out to operators when compared to the previous year 2022, which was 1,325 licences.
Nigeria is believed to have as much as 44 mineral types, including 3.5 billion metric tons of iron ore reserves, 2.7 billion metric tons of coal reserves as well as 2.5 million ounces of gold reserves, but which remain largely underexploited.
Some of the identified challenges besetting the sector are: Lack of infrastructure, inadequate funding, weak regulatory framework, insecurity, environmental concerns, corruption and inadequate data.
Nigeria has also historically focused on oil, with little government support for the solid minerals sector, coupled with insufficient policy implementation and support.
NEITI stated that a total of 1,537 companies paid both royalty and annual service fee during the review period, comprising 110 extractive companies and nine government entities, with a materiality threshold of N6 million.
Besides, the aggregate of total receipts by federal, states, and local government agencies experienced a 16 per cent increase in revenue collection compared to 2022 in the sector, the report added.
Total mineral production was just about 95 million tonnes, representing an increase of 24.34 million when compared to the previous production of 70.72 million tonnes, thus indicating a 34.4 per cent increase.
“Minerals with the largest production volume in the year under review were granite, limestone, laterite, clay and sand. The major contributor to production are Dangote, BUA and Lafarge, with a combined production quantity and royalty payment of 51,615,051 tonnes and N3,227,611,424 respectively.
“Notably, Dangote accounted for significant share of total production of 54.2 per cent and royalty of 35.8 per cent. These figures underscore the significant role played by these major companies in the mining sector.
“As regards state production, Edo recorded the highest production in the year under review, with a total of 19.4 million tonnes, followed by Ogun with 15.3 million tonnes, and Kogi with 10.9. million tonnes. The least production volume was recorded in Borno State with 9,352 tonnes,” the 2023 solid minerals report stated.
