Nigeria’s government has revoked 924 dormant mining titles with immediate effect and it is urging investors to apply for the licences.
The country’s Minister of Mines and Steel, Dele Alake said new licences would be issued on a “first come, first served” basis.
The revocation affects 528 exploration licences, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licences, and 273 small-scale mining licences, Alake said in a statement.
Late last year, over 1,600 mining titles were nullified for failing to pay statutory fees as part of broad reforms initiated in the sector.
The Minister emphasised that the decision was taken to control “licence racketeering” where companies or individuals secure potentially lucrative titles only to offer them to the highest bidder.
“By creating a secondary, black market to pawn mineral licences, the unsuspecting and unwary investor is misled into believing that he can only obtain a licence by patronising the black market. This discourages investment,” Alake stressed.
“We believe that this decision will sanitise the licensing system by penalising those who have commercialised the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar”, he added.
Nigeria is incentivising its desire to bring investors into a sector that hasn’t been largely underdeveloped by offering tax waivers and unhindered access to profits.
Africa’s top oil producer says it will only grant licences to companies that process their minerals locally after tightening mining laws for foreign companies last year.