Mining the world over is capital intensive and highly technical. It requires heavy financial investment by government and mining operators for the procurement of site equipment, machinery, provision of infrastructure such as railways, roads, power, water, and the like, as well as expertise, skilled manpower and the deployment of new technologies.
It is on record that organised mining activities began in Nigeria between 1902 and 1923 following the commissioning of mineral surveys of the Southern and Northern Protectorates by the British Secretary of State for the colonies in 1903 and 1904.
Mining became a major source of revenue earner for the country in the 60s to 70s, contributing about 4 to 5 per cent to the nation’s gross domestic product. However, the discovery of oil in the 70s resulted in the gradual neglect of the sector, leading to the decline in both funding and revenue generation.
In 2015, the revenue contribution of the mining sector to the nation’s GDP was about 0.33 per cent, making it the lowest contributor to GDP compared to other African mining countries like South Africa 18%, Democratic Republic of Congo 25% and Botswana 40%.
Mining experts in Nigeria have identified the problem of insufficient funding as one of the critical challenges facing the sector. This was further confirmed by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi in his message at the 2016 press briefing.
He stated that the mining sector’s meagre contribution to the nation’s GDP in 2015 was unacceptable especially in light of President Buhari’s drive to diversify the economy through Agriculture and Mining. Dr. Fayemi said on assumption of office in November, 2015, that he and the Minister of State, Honourable Abubakar Bawa Bwari, having identified the major challenges of the sector, quickly swung into action by deepening reforms, attracting new investors and collaborating with all stakeholders to build an attractive mining sector.
In addressing the problem of inadequate funding in the sector, government increased budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development from N1bn in 2015 to N7.3bn in 2016, and an expected capital budgetary improvement in 2017 to about N12.9bn
The result was the formula tion of a new roadmap for the sector, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council in August, 2016 and formally launched to the public on December 19, 2016.
The roadmap’s focal point is the path to sustainable development in the sector for the next 10 years. It lays special emphasis on the critical issues and challenges and how to address them for value creation in the immediate, short, mid-term and longterm periods to sustain the required momentum for reforms in the sector.
In addressing the problem of inadequate funding in the sector, the Minister mentioned some of the measures taken by government to improve funding, which include increased budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development from N1bn in 2015 to N7.3bn in 2016, and an expected capital budgetary improvement in 2017 to about N12.9bn.
It may be recalled that N30bn Intervention Fund was approved in 2016 for the sector by the Federal government from the Natural Resources Development Fund, which is geared towards exploration, formalisation of artisanal miners and providing access to funding for genuine miners.
Also a 13 per cent derivation for mineral revenue to States was also approved from the Federation accounts as well as $150m World Bank support secured by government for the Mineral Sector for Economic Diversification (MSSED) or (MinDiver) programme.
The World Bank support is a critical component that will provide technical assistance for the restructuring and operationalisation of the Mining Investment Fund, which would make finance available to Artisanal and Small Scale operators through developmental finance, micro-finance and leasing institutions.
The Minister said that government is also working with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigerian Stock Exchange and others to assemble a $600m investment fund for the sector in 2017 and government has commenced capacity building on Mining Finance within banks and financial institutions, in order to build their knowledge as sets in the sector.
In the area of increased revenue generation, Dr. Fayemi disclosed that the sector tripled its contribution to the Federation account to about N2bn in 2016, up from N700m in 2015.
The N2bn is generated from only royalties and fees while other revenues such as income and company taxes, collected from the sector go directly to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The projection for revenue generation from fees and royalties by the sector is set at N3bn. With government efforts towards increasing the funding and revenue profile of the sector, there is need for all stakeholders to partner with it, take advantage of the available funding provisions and operate in accordance with global best practices in mining to realise the dream of making Nigeria a mining destination.
