Nigerian Federal Government Terminates 924 Mining Idle Permits.

In four different mining industry sectors, the federal government has revoked 924 dormant licences.

The affected sectors include exploration, mining, small-scale mining, and quarrying, according to Minister of Solid Minerals Developments Dele Alake, who made the announcement on Wednesday, April 24 during a press conference.

Alake informed media representatives that all relevant parties had received sufficient notice through the Federal Republic of Nigeria's official Gazette, No. 227, which was published on December 27, 2023.

There were 528 exploration licences, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licences, and 273 small-scale mining licences (SSML) among the 924 idle licences that were revoked.

“The notice gave all concerned parties 30 days to regularise their status, including clarifications on what caused the license to be dormant. 

“Thus, although a total of 963 licensees were published and notified of the threat of revocation, no fewer than 39 either moved to the site immediately or convinced the authorities of the challenges hindering their operations.”

Investors worldwide are now able to apply for any of the "affected cadastral units on the basis of first come, first served," according to the Minister, who also disclosed that the action would sanitize the licensing system by penalizing those who have "commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar."

Since different categories of revoked licenses have varying fines associated with them, the affected license holders have been ordered to make restitution. The 1,633 titles that were revoked last year due to non-payment of annual service fees also fall under this category.

“For revoked mining licenses, a fine of N10m applies; N7.5m for small-scale mining license (SSML) while N5m for exploration license (EL). They will be required to make the payments within 30 days to qualify for consideration.”