Alake revokes 924 dormant mining licences, says investors across the globe free to apply for the affected cadastral units
*Photo: Dr Dele Alake*
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, on Wednesday revoked 924 mineral licences based on the invocation of the ‘Use it or Lose it’ policy of the Ministry.
Alake announced this during a press conference held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, saying that investors from around the globe are free to apply for any of the affected cadastral units.
The Minister disclosed that the revoked mining licences include 528 Exploration Licences; 20 Mining Leases; 101 Quarry licences; and 273 Small Scale Mining Licences.
Dr Alake said: “Clearly, Nigeria’s mining sector cannot continue to suffer low investment on account of the nefarious activities of persons who buy licences of promising mine sites to sell, it therefore became imperative to revoke dormant licences.
“In line with constitutional provisions, we ensured that adequate notice was given to the concerned parties through the official gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria No 227 which was published on December 27, 2023.
“This notice gave all concerned parties 30 days to regularize their status including clarifications on what caused the licence to be dormant.
“Thus, although a total of 963 licences were published and notified of the threat of revocation, no fewer than 39 either moved to site immediately or convinced the authorities of the challenges which hindered their operations.
“In view of the above which shows our adherence with due process and fair consideration and in line with the standard policy of ‘Use it or Lose It’, I hereby revoke the 924 dormant licences with immediate effect.
“These include 528 Exploration Licences; 20 Mining Leases; 101 Quarry licences; and 273 Small Scale Mining Licences.
“Investors across the globe are now free to apply for any of the affected cadastral units on the basis ‘First Come, First Served.’ It is our belief that this decision will sanitize the licencing system by penalizing those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazzar.
“The good lesson from this exercise is for investors to do their homework and be ready to flag off their projects as soon as they obtain licences. Nigeria is open for business and we shall encourage smart, serious and adventurous investors to set up and give to our teeming youths.”
It will be recalled that in November last year, on the occasion of the revocation of 1,663 licences for failure to pay statutory charges, fees and dues to the Federal Government, the Minister warned that those who were yet to resume work on their mining projects should do so immediately or risk revocation also.
