Minister Dele Alake revoked 1,263 mining licenses to enforce compliance and attract genuine investors into Nigeria’s mining sector.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has approved the revocation of 1,263 mining licences for failure to comply with statutory obligations, including the payment of annual service fees.
In a statement by his media aide, Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja, Alake said the revoked titles included 584 exploration licences, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licences, and 470 small-scale mining leases. The action, recommended by the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), was aimed at sanitising the mining sector and opening opportunities for serious investors.
“The era of obtaining licenses and keeping them in drawers for the highest bidder while financially capable and industrious businessmen are complaining of access to good sites is over,” Alake said. He added that the list of defaulters would be forwarded to the EFCC to recover debts.