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The
estimated production
value in the Nigerian solid minerals sector increased from
$35m (N5.2bn) to $135m (N20.02) between 2005 and 2009.
This feat will be
complemented by the first large-scale goldmine that will be
operational in Osun State between now and 2012.
Disclosing these in Abuja on
Tuesday during the inauguration of the new Mining Cadastre
Office, the World Bank Director in Nigeria, Mr. Onno Ruhl,
called on the Federal Government to provide an atmosphere
where investors could harness the enormous potential in the
sector.
He said that there should be
good policy, legislation, regulation stability, consistency
and predictability to make this a reality.
Ruhl said, “Today marks an
important step to realise the potential of the sector. It is
not just to create jobs, but also to divest from oil. This
is a process that has been on the way for long.
“Estimated production value
in the sector increased from $35m in 2005 to $135m in 2009
and the first large-scale gold mine is to be operational in
Osun State in 2011/2012. The most important thing in the
sector is partnership between the public and the private
sectors. The MCO makes the process of licensing easier.”
While calling on the
government to ensure sustainable fund for the sector, he
said the budget for the industry should be under capital
expenditure instead of recurrent expenditure, adding that
the funds should facilitate real mining projects.
The World Bank official
said, “Mining is dependent on infrastructure. Think about
infrastructure to sustain the sector in a way that it will
also benefit the communities so that the sector will
succeed.
“It is beautiful to have an
office, but more beautiful is to allow miners get their
titles easily. This is the sector for small and medium-scale
investors and it is different from oil business.”
In his address, the Minister
of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Mohammed Sada, said,
prior to the mining reforms in 2005, the Nigerian mining
cadastre system was poorly organised with an arbitrary
licensing system.
He said accurate and
representative statistical data about the status of cadastre
information were lacking with no access to reliable and
representative information about the licensing situation in
the country.
“There was a significant
backlog of pending applications and several dormant mining
titles, which were largely not compliant with the legal
dispositions at the time,” the minister said.
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