By Halimah Olamide
The Federal Government on Tuesday announced the revocation of 1,633 mining licenses.
Announcing the revocation, Minister of Mining, Mr. Dele Alake, said the action of the government became germane owing to the expiration of the 30-day ultimatum given to defaulters as stipulated by law.
“In compliance with the law, the Mining Cadastral Office (MCO) on October 4, 2023, began the process of revoking 2,213 titles.
These included 795 Exploration titles, 956 Small Scale Mining Licences, 364 Quarry licences, and 98 Mining Leases.
These were published in the Federal Government Gazette Number 178, Volume 110 of October 10, 2023, with the notice of revocation for defaulting in the payment of Annual Service Fee. ”
“The mandatory 30 days expired on November 10, 2023. Only 580 titleholders responded by settling their indebtedness. With this development, the MCO recommended the revocation of 1, 633 mineral titles as follows: Exploration Licence, 536; Quarry Licence, 279; Small Scale Mining Licence, 787 and Mining Lease, 31”.
“In line with the powers conferred on me by the NMMA 2007, Section 5 (a), I have approved the revocation of the 1,633 titles.
I hereby warn the previous holders of these titles to leave the relevant cadaster with immediate effect as security agencies shall work with the Mines Inspectorate of the Ministry to apprehend any defaulter found on any of the areas where titles have been revoked”, Dr. Alake asserted.
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The Minister further stated that efforts are ongoing to sanction other operators defaulting in payment of royalties, and taxes amongst others, emphasising that revocation of operators shortchanging government is an ongoing process which he noted will create space for serious prospective investors to come on stream.
Responding to enquiries on Illegal mining, Alake read the riot act to culprits asserting that their days are numbered. He vowed that the government would deal ruthlessly with those who refuse to turn a new leaf, restating the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to sanitising the mining sector.
On the issue of insecurity, the Minister reiterated that plans for the establishment of Mines Police are underway, revealing that the military will conduct initial clearance operations to pave the way for the deployment of the Mines Police.