The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, has announced a fresh revocation of not less than 1,263 mineral licences.
These licenses, which will now be deleted from the Electronic Mining Cadastral System portal of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, include 584 exploration licences, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.
The minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, gave the revocation announcement in a statement issued by his special assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja.
The minister explained that the directive was issued due to the companies’ failure to comply with the requirement of paying their annual service fees. The latest revocation brings the total mineral titles revoked under the current administration to 3, 794 including 619 mineral titles revoked for defaulting in paying annual service fees and 912 for dormancy last year.
By opening up the areas formerly covered by these licenses, the revocation is expected to spur fresh applications by investors looking for fresh opportunities.
The statement read, “Not less than 1,263 mineral licences will be deleted from the portal of the Electronic Mining Cadastral system of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, MCO, following their revocation by the Federal Government.
