Mining

A mining company, Segilola Resources Operating Ltd, has called for strategic investment in lithium, particularly because of its demand as one of the critical minerals for the global energy transition.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company , Mr Segun Lawson, made the call in his remarks at the 2024 African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS), on Wednesday in Abuja.

Segilola Resources Operating Ltd, is an indigenous gold mining company in Ilesha, Osun state.

In 2023, the project produced 84,609 ounces ( 2,398.6 kilogrammes) of gold amounting to $194.4 million at current prices.

Lawson expressed delight that Nigeria was gaining recognition for its minerals, which it possessed in commercial quantities.

According to him, the country can reposition the solid minerals sector through addressing illegal mining.

“Concerted efforts and stakeholders engagement is required in addressing illegal mining .

“ Nigeria is loosing nine billion dollars in illegal mining,” he said.

He lamented that insecurity was also affecting mining activities and depriving the county of the requisite revenue it can derive from the sector .

The CEO, however, commended the federal government on its efforts in addressing the menace through the establishment of the Mining Marshals, a special unit drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to combat illegal mining.”

He listed other challenges in the sector to include environmental degradation, mining by minors which he said require urgent action.

He said that the company was committed to developing the local economy of its host communities, saying that its work force was 98 per cent local employees .

He said the summit would showcase the vast minerals resources of Nigeria to the global community and boost its development .

“The summit will make Nigeria and Africa, attractive destination for Solid minerals investment ,” he said.

Abuja, March 20, 2024: The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake has warned that no mining license would be issued to prospective investors without requisite plans for value addition on minerals.

Alake gave the warning in a statement  by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori on Tuesday.

He said the Federal Government had resolved to ensure compliance before permitting investors to operate.

He said that his Seven -Point Agenda for the ministry had placed the mining sector on global front burner since assuming office, which had generated renewed interest from the international community in Nigeria’s mineral resources.

He said the support of the executive and the legislature had enabled the ministry to showcase the solid minerals sector globally, resulting in his election as the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to him, with the pact that led to the formation of the AMSG, there is now unity of purpose on the African continent regarding the issue of local value addition.

“We are no longer going to allow anybody or license any company that wants to go into the mineral sector without giving us a plan for local value addition,  like processing, refining and this has a multiplier effect on the economy.

“It instantly generates employment rather than a few people carting away lithium, gold, and the likes to other countries to sell.

“These minerals must now be processed in Nigeria, creating more value and beneficiation for local communities where they are sourced, ” he said.

The minister had earlier received members of the House Committee on Solid Minerals who were on oversight visit to his office.

The minister commended the lawmakers for their support in repositioning the mining sector, stressing that boosting the economic profile of Nigeria required joint task by both the executive and legislature.

He acknowledged the significant contribution of sub-nationals to mining development, emphasising that state chairmen of  Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO) and five committee members were nominated by state governments.

Jos, March 20, 2024: The Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) says it has received 10, 805 applications for new mineral titles and modifications since the launch of its Electronic Mining Cadastre Systems (eMC+) in 2022.

The Director General of MCO, Mr Obadiah Nkom, disclosed this during the organisation’s business session, at the 59th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) on Tuesday in Jos.

Nkom explained that the applications were received between 2022 and February 2024.

Nkom said that 4,306 were unassisted online transactions, representing 39.85 per cent of all applications, indicating stakeholders’ swift adoption of the system.

He said that the MCO was saddled with the responsibility of the administration and management of mineral titles and maintenance of cadastre registrar in accordance with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007.

The DG said that the eMC+ was an innovation of the organisation conceived to facilitate the ease of doing business in the mining sector, increase transparency, efficiency, and service delivery, as well as to align with best practices.

“The function of eMC+ is summed up as being able to create and maintain chronological records, but the most important is to ensure that mineral title administrations are managed and administered in the most transparent manner, “ he said,

According to him, the benefits also include better services for operators, support and tracking of all transaction processing steps and improved compliance with mining regulations among other factors.

He noted that most of the mining activities were  artisanal and small-scale in nature, saying they have a department saddled with the responsibility of coordinating their activities.

“We have a department called artisanal and small department to be able to organise them in to cooperatives and give them extension services,” he said.

In another development, the MCO boss, who chaired the business session of Plateau government at the conference, said that proper enlightenment was crucial to mitigate accidents at mining sites.

Nkom stated this while reacting to a report that 36 people were recently killed in mining pits in the state.

He said that in such situations, owners of legal mining sites with titles were expected to report the incidents to prevent them from recurring.

He, however, expressed concern  that most operations were illegal  and lacked safe methods, saying that repositioning the mining sector required the cooperation of all stakeholders for its success.

“Everyone has a role to play from the local government areas, traditional rulers and the community members, “ he said.

Abuja, Feb. 12, 2024: A mining expert, Mrs Janet Adeyemi, has urged government to establish laboratories across the six geo-political zones to enhance Lithium development.

She said it was crucial to achieving high purity standards, as well as up-scaling exploration and processing of the mineral deposits.

Adeyemi said this on Sunday in Abuja: “Each geo-political zone at least, should have a very standard reference lab, then private sectors can equally come with their own laboratories, I think it will help, a lot” she said.

Lithium, one of the critical mineral deposits in Nigeria, is currently mined in Nassarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti and Cross River.

The global upsurge in energy transition requires a shift from traditional fossil fuels and dependency on oil hydro carbons to green energy.

Lithium is a critical mineral for the success of this transition and an essential component for the manufacturing of rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles, electronics, and grid energy storage.

Adeyemi, who is also the founder of Women in Mining (WIM), said that the laboratories would enable the government to establish the quality of mineral resources exiting the country to boost its economic profile.

According to her, the establishment of efficient energy corridors for mining operations can enhance its overall productivity and profitability while minimising environmental impacts and logistical challenges.

“We should also create energy corridors or what we call infrastructure development corridors, where some of these processing can take place, so that it will reduce overhead on building anything .

“Like the Nassarawa and Kogi axis is a very rich belt, I believe that can be a corridor for the development of all these things and before we know it, the kind of results we need should be there,” she said. “

The WIM president called for the training of Nigerians for a successful energy transition, adding that multi sectoral collaboration should be developed for a constructive collegiate mechanism .

According to Adeyemi, the aim is to drive development in the sector and discourage working in silence , a scenario where information is usually difficult to access.

“What one ministry is doing, another will not know, but when you throw it open, it becomes a challenge, becomes a source of inspiration for the next generation, so everybody has a stake.

“ Diasporans will be interested in putting out their money, but when something is shoddy and you don’t understand what is happening ,you will not want to put your money,” she said.

She commended the Nasarawa Government for the ongoing construction of a world-class lithium factory in the state, and urged the Federal Government to maximise the benefits of its mineral resources, particularly in developing its local economy.

“Government have already come up with a policy that we cannot export raw materials, it has to be processed.

” Because most times our people are exploited, people will tell you that the grade of the lithium is not the standard grade they want and they cheat them out, ” she said.

Abuja, Jan. 31, 2024: The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, says mining firms will be sanctioned if they do not comply with the revised Community Development Agreements (CDA).

Alake gave the warning in a statement  by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Segun Tomori, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The ministry of solid mineral development on Nov. 16,  2023,  launched the revised guidelines for the production of the agreements.

The CDA is a statutory provision that ensured transfer of socio economic benefits to mining host communities.

It is a legal document that contained obligations by the Mineral Title Holder (MTH) to her host community (ies) and vice versa.

Alake stated that  the era of disregarding the CDA was over, saying that measures had been put in place to begin enforcement of its compliance and sanction defaulters.

He disclosed that the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation has reached an advanced stage, adding that the process of creating an enabling law by the National Assembly to guide its operations was underway.

“In working with the legislature to establish the legal and legitimate foundation for the institution, we resolve to ensure that a share structure,  in line with private sector-led strategy in which the Federal Government will not hold more than 25 per cent.

“The Nigerian citizens will by public shares hold 25 per cent and private investors, each with a maximum of 10 per cent of the shares of the N1 billion share capital will be achieved,” he said.

According to the minister, government is exploring funding options for  integrated minerals exploration project.

He said the project aimed  to produce a comprehensive coverage of all categories  of minerals across the entire Nigerian landscape.

He further explained that the project could extend to coastal offshores in order to also explore opportunities in deep sea mining.

The minister said that President Bola Tinubu in his determination to address insecurity around mining sites and on other natural resources, set up an inter-ministerial committee to produce a blue print for securing Nigeria’s natural resources.

He said the  committee had an expanded meeting with security agencies on Jan. 25, to produce a comprehensive security architecture to secure mineral sites, marine economy and forests.

He said the government was committed to creating an enabling environment for operating business in the sector, through the digitisation of the mining application process through the Electronic Mining Cadastral System.

“Efforts are also being made to improve the Nigerian Mining and Minerals Act 2007 to accommodate the changes over the years and make it more amenable to national priorities,” he said.

Abuja, Jan. 25, 2024: The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and the Nigerian Export-Import (NEXIM) bank, have expressed commitment to partner in boosting mining sector financing.

The partnership is also aimed at addressing accruing logistics stalling the export of solid minerals.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake described the partnership as apt and thanked the bank for deploying its financial tools to assist the mining industry.

In a statement issued by Alake’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori on Wednesday in Abuja, the partnership was discussed when the Bank’s Managing Director, Abba Bello, visited the minister in his office in Abuja.

The minister acknowledged the bank’s commitment to the development of the mining sector, saying that they have been instrumental in facilitating access to equipment and other funding needs.

He was quoted saying “I think your role is quite critical to filling the financing shortfall for local mining investors.

“ We need you to up the game for our local investors so that we can minimise logistical bottlenecks for exports of solid minerals while also scaling up access to funding and mining equipment,”.

He said that the ministry would take advantage of the collaboration and leverage on the bank’s resources to develop the mining industry.

Speaking, the NEXIM’s boss said that its mining support scheme was designed to support local mining companies in accessing capital, to develop critical minerals, provide credit enhancement and instruments to de-risk projects.

He added that scheme was also conceived to facilitate and attract investments in mining projects, aimed at boosting the contribution of the sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exports.

“The mining scheme will comprise Equipment Leasing Framework, which is designed to minimize investment capital outlay for needed production equipment; Contract Mining Framework.

“Which will enhance productivity and scale of mining operations while the Buyers Credit/Export Credit Agency(ECA) financing is intended to leverage partnerships to enhance value-added operations and expansion of current mining operations,” he said.