The Federal Government collected N6,957,826,200 mining fees and registered 118 new private mineral buying centres in the first quarter of this year.

Giving the details at the second Annual Mining Conference organised by Businessday newspaper in Abuja at the weekend, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, said the revenues reflect the outcome of the Ministry's efforts to raise awareness and attract investors.

The mining fees collected by licensing parastatal Mining Cadastral Office, MCO, came from 955 applications for title grants. Six hundred and fifty-one were for exploration, 270 for small-scale mining, 49 for Quarrying, and 24 for reconnaissance permits. The Minister approved 867 applications, including 512 exploration licenses, 295 small-scale mining leases, 60 Quarry leases, and 5 mining leases.

The revenues are from paying various fees, including annual service fees, application processing fees, and renewal of titles.

MCO has also stepped up conflict resolution to reduce petitions arising from overlap and litigation over ownership.

Dr Alake disclosed that the Ministry has recorded a lot of progress in plans to set up the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation to make its structure a veritable special-purpose vehicle that will catapult Nigeria into the league of global mining players.

Speaking on the theme, ?Building A Resilient Mining Sector," Dr. Alake said the corporation will be globally competitive and rooted in Nigerian expertise and capital.

?We are finalising its structure in partnership with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI). Nigerians will have the opportunity to invest through a public offer, with 25% equity reserved for citizens, 25% for the government, and 50% for the private sector?, the minister stated.

He scored the ministry high on revenue generation, citing how it surpassed the 2024 projected revenue of N11 billion by N27 billion to N38 billion.

Highlighting the impact of international engagements, Alake revealed that the French government has committed to equip the laboratory of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) and train young geologists abroad in modern mining technologies on the heels of the MOU signed by President Bola Tinubu and French President, Emmanuel Macron.

?The Government of Western Australia recently approved the regular training of Nigerian mining professionals, and the first batch of trainees are billed to depart next month. British and Saudi Arabian investors are coming together to invest across the mineral value chain, and just few days ago, we signed an MOU on capacity building in the geology field with South Africa?, Dr Alake added.

Citing the impact of his value addition policy, the minister declared that it has enhanced local beneficiation and positioned Nigeria as the undisputable leader of African mining countries.

His words: ?Nigeria emerged as the pioneer chairperson of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) based on our advocacy for value addition and opposition to the reckless exportation of raw minerals without processing or refining. One of our goals is to use this position to attract investment to Africa and Nigeria. He stated that this is already yielding fruits as we will commission some Lithium, bauxite, and gold refining plants this quarter?, he stated.

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