Nigeria’s mining authorities to revoke 3,000 mineral titles
The titles at risk of federal axe represent 25 per cent of the total 10,959 mining operators registered in Nigeria.
Federal mining licensors at
Nigeria’s Mining Cadastre Office(MCO) are looking to February 12 to commence the revocation of some 2,763 mineral titles whose holders have failed to pay outstanding yearly service fees in a new aggressive revenue drive designed to swell government’s coffers in 2021.
The titles at risk of federal axe represent 25 per cent of the total 10,959 mining operators registered in Nigeria, according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals Development as of December 31, 2020.
A news analysis by Francisca Oluyole of
Organised mining began in Nigeria in 1902, when the Mineral Survey of the Northern Protectorate was created by the British colonial government.
A year later, the Mineral Survey of the Southern Protectorates was founded and by 1940s, Nigeria was a major producer of tin, columbite and coal.
The discovery of oil in 1956 affected the mineral extraction industries, as the government and industry both began to focus on this new resource.
The Nigerian Civil War in the late 1960s made many mining expatriates to leave the country and that affected the mining industry.
In a bid to unlock the economic potential of the solid minerals, the Federal Government in 1985 created the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to spur the rapid and beneficial development of the country’s solid mineral resources.
Nigeria: Court Orders Immediate Unsealing of Mining Firm in Ebonyi allafrica.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from allafrica.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the Ebonyi Government to reopen the quarry site of Crushed Rock Industries Limited, which was shut down recently.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed gave the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by lawyer to the mining firm, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
Justice Mohammed also awarded N10 million damages against the state government.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the over 40-year-old company had, on April 23, in its suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/451/2020, sued the Ebonyi Government for an alleged illegal shutdown of its quarry site.
It alleged that its quarry site located at Ishiagu in Ebonyi was shut by the state government for non-payment of exorbitant fees.
By Taiye Agbaje
Abuja, Dec. 22, 2020 The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the Ebonyi Government to reopen the quarry site of Crushed Rock Industries Limited, which was shut down recently.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed gave the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by lawyer to the mining firm, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
Justice Mohammed also awarded N10 million damages against the state government.
Naija247news reports that the over 40-year-old company had, on April 23, in its suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/451/2020, sued the Ebonyi Government for an alleged illegal shutdown of its quarry site.
It alleged that its quarry site located at Ishiagu in Ebonyi was shut by the state government for non-payment of exorbitant fees.