The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, says the Federal Government is working to mainstream activities of artisanal miners into the legal system for effective management.

Adegbite said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Nigeria Mining Week.

According to him, artisanal miners form an important constituent of the mining sector.

“They operate outside the constituted legal system and their operations are inimical to the environment and economy of the nation.

“Government is therefore determined to mainstream this class of miners into the legal system for effective management.

“The ministry is working with experienced professionals to scale up its knowledge of formalisation techniques and build up its ability on real time data collection of artisanal mining sites in the country.

“This is to aid their formalisation into mining co-operatives and mineral enterprises.

“Extension services will be provided by the ministry in all aspects of the value chain to ensure adequate management and sustainability,” he said.

The minister said that the ministry was also taking steps to ensure that mining activities were not inimical to the environment by improving the Environmental impact.

“Environmental impact is critical in sustainable mineral development.

“Government has maintained a consistent environmental surveillance and green mining practices to ensure minimum damage to the environment.

“The Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO) have been strengthened and the ministry is keeping constant dialogue with committees in almost all the states of the country,'” he said.

He said that the ministry had intensified efforts in revamping the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the Iron Ore Mining Company in Itakpe.

According to him, the assets of the two companies have been secured and freed from all legal encumbrances.

He said that a transaction adviser had been appointed to conduct a professional and transparent concessioning of the two firms.

He added that the National Steel Council had also been constituted and inaugurated as an integral stakeholder in the development of the steel industry.

“The results of our endeavor are encouraging.

“Thor Exploration Limited commissioned their world class Segilola Gold Mine in December, 2021, and the firm has produced 85,000 ounces of gold to date. Kursi Investment Limited is rapidly developing its gold asset in Kwara.

“Eta Zuma Mining and Industries Limited and the Mosra Enerji are mining and supplying the coal needs of Dangote and Bua Cement works.

“Several firms are at their end stage mine development,” he said.

Adegbite said that government revenues from the sector increased from N2billion in 2015 to over N7billion in 2021, indicating a major increase in mining activities in the field.

“We shall intensify our efforts to work to make our mining sector more competitive in the global mining space and to satisfy the needs of our domestic and global goals.

“We shall prioritise the development of critical minerals required in clean energy transition and reduction in green house emission to zero, ” he said.

The Acting President, Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Musa Muhammad, said that the platform of the Nigeria Mining Week had been utilised over the years to do wholesome critique of the national mining ecosystem.

According to Muhammad, in spite of some unresolved legacy challenges and new ones emerging, there are quite some notable developmental strides being driven by the regulatory ministry and its agencies.

He listed appreciable increase in sectoral contributions to the GDP as one of such developments.

“Increased interest of foreign investors due to the verifiable geological data being generated by the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP), of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency.

“Digitalisation of mineral titles administration by the Mining Cadastre Office; development of Cluster Buying Centers across the geopolitical zones, standardisation of the Nigerian barite to meet up with global specifications.

“The various conversations emanating from this platform have been incubating the ideas for policy formulation and actions,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Cyril Azobu, Partnership and Mining Industry Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said that the Nigeria Mining Week remained a destination of choice for discerning mining companies and investors.

Azobu said that PwC was confident about the potential growth of the Nigerian mining industry.

“In our role as advisors to both public and private sectors, we have helped catalyse and witnessed several companies to successfully exploit the opportunities in the mining ecosystem.

“The industry has continued to grow and record notable achievements over the past seven years of our involvement in organising this forum in collaboration with other stakeholders,” he said.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his vision and drive towards diversifying the Nigerian economy.

“Mr President’s commendable vision and drive towards diversifying Nigeria’s economy is yielding fruits with the mining sector.

“Nigeria’s mining industry is currently attracting a lot of investor attention in exploration because of laudable policies that are helping to de-risk the sector.

“A positive outcome of the NIMEP is the provision of bankable geoscientific data giving investors the confidence to invest.

“As a result, there is traction in drilling and analytical equipment coming into the country, ” he said.

He added that, now was the best time to invest in exploration of Nigeria’s vast and untapped mineral deposits.

He listed available mineral deposits in various parts of the country as gold, bitumen, nickel, chromium, cobalt, rare earth minerals, lead-Zinc, silver, copper, barite and iron ore.