Besides, Nigeria, she told the investors, has put in place some other tax incentives such as the reduction of Companies Profit Tax from 35% to 30%.

Madueke who was represented by the Permanent Secretary Mr. Suleiman Kassim at the 2010 Mining Indaba conference holding in Cape Town, South Africa also said that the Capital Gains Tax has been reduced from 20% to 10% for prospective investors.

She added that there would also be an increase of the initial Annual Capital allowances from 20% and 10% to 30% and 20% respectively for the investors.

The minister said: “Nigeria’s mineral deposits have been discovered in commercial quantities and we believe that they are critical in commercial quantities and we believe that they are critical to the industrialization and development of the country. I therefore, seize the opportunity to invite you to invest in the development of these key minerals, as our government has put together a packaged of attractive incentives for investors who are willing to capitalize on the plethora opportunities in Nigeria’s mining sector. These incentives include the following: “Companies Profits Tax reduced from 35% to30%, Capital Gains Tax reduced from 35% to 10%, Increase of the initial and Annual Capital allowances from 20% and 10% to 30% and 20% respectively. 3 year tax holiday for new mining companies.”

 While commenting on the nation’s mining potentials as contained in the air borne geological survey data, which she launched in the conference, said Nigeria has bitumen of estimated reserves of 27 billion barrels of oil equivalent, coal of 2.7 billion tones, iron ore of estimated resources of 3 billion tones.

She went ahead to state that Nigeria limestone estimated resources of 2.23trillion tones, barites of estimated resource of 14million tones and others.

Meanwhile the Director Permanent Secretary of Mining Cadastre, Engineer Goni Sheik who presented the Permanent Secretary, Suleiman Kassim’s speech recalled that the ministry commenced the acquisition of airborne geophysical data carrying out a pilot scheme in Ogun State in 2003.

Kassim further noted that the survey covered 37,108 line kilometers of magnetic gradiometer and spectrometer surveys.

He added that after a pilot scheme, the phase 1 of the project commenced covering 44% of the country with 774,710 line kilometers which was financed by the Ministry. Phase II according to him, also covered  53% of the country equivalent to 1,132,960 line kilometers and was financed by the World Bank intervention programme, known as the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project (SMMRP).

Speaking with journalists after the launch of the data, a member of the Senate committee on Solid Minerals, Senator Mohammed Jubrin said the government has put in infrastructure in the industry to attract investors.

Senator Jubrin said the essence of the launching the data at the conference was to attract the very few global players in the industry.

He stressed that the conference would also allow Nigeria to learn from stronger economies in the sector and avert the mistakes that it is currently experiencing in the oil sector.

 “There are very few strong mining companies around the world that control the majority of the mining activities internationally and Nigeria with its huge potential in the mining industry needs the collaboration of some of these important organs , companies and institution so that they can go into the development of the sector.