Victor Ezeja
In a move to sanitise the solid mineral sector and pave way for sustainable investment, the ministry has revoked not less than 4,709 licences.
The ministry also intends to revoke more licences as part of efforts protect investors from fraudsters and make the sector more economically beneficially to the country.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Director-General of the Mining Cadastre Office, an agency of the Federal Government, Obadiah Nkom, made this known during an X space on Thursday.
The space was to highlight issues in the Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, and efforts to ensure transparency and order for overall viability and profitability.
Obadiah stated that the clean-up operation, which includes expired, speculative, and inactive titles, is required to pave way for legitimate investors while also ensuring legal compliance.
He said: “this cleaning exercise that we are doing is to be able to now create that space in the minefield for people. So, imagine having over 4,709 erased from our system by way of revocations implemented. It has sanitised our sector, and investors now know that if they are not going to be involved in exploration and value addition, there will be consequences.”
He said that in the clean up exercise, they follow provisions of the law.
The Federal Government has continued to crack down on illegal mining and other illicit activities that both sabotages the economy and pose threat to the environment.
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It would be recalled that the minister revoked 924 licenses in 2024 over failure to pay statutory charges and fees due to the Federal Government and warned licensees yet to resume work on their mining projects to do so immediately.
In a statement last week, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, had said mining marshals has sealed off some illegal gold mining sites in Gwagwalada and other parts of Abuja to prevent destruction of the environment and human lives.
While urging residents to avoid the illegal mining locations for safety, as site inspection continues, he revealed that Ministry is fast-tracking the deployment of satellite surveillance technology to monitor mining operations across the country.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
