50% of the country’s GDP will come from solid minerals – Dele Alake

Solid minerals will contribute 50% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to Mr. Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development.

In Abuja on Sunday, Alake made this statement at the launching of the Agenda for Transformation of Solid Minerals for International Competitiveness and Domestic Prosperity.

He asserted that the ministry will concentrate on a seven-point plan and was prepared to bring in foreign direct investment.

He cites these as the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation, joint ventures with multinational mining companies, and big data on the specific seven priority minerals and their resources.

“Also, illicit miners had been allowed a 30-day grace period to join artisanal cooperatives.

The Agenda will establish a Mines Surveillance Task Force, Mines Police, and a thorough examination of all mining licences.

Six Mineral Processing Centres with an emphasis on value-added products will be created, he said.

According to the minister, President Bola Tinubu made daring and hard decisions that changed the logic of the Nigerian economy.

Among the fundamentally transformative measures of this administration, according to him, were the elimination of subsidies and the introduction of a single exchange rate.

The ministry’s management is guided by this unconventional strategy for building long-term economic resilience.

The ministry must “take the bull by the horns” if the nation is to benefit from the trillion-dollar-worth of minerals that are buried beneath the ground nationwide.

By repositioning the sector in terms of human and capital variables that can drive its transformation, he said, “there has to be a paradigm shift in the strategy to achieve this laudable objective.”

The minister declared that mining was a lucrative industry and assured that the Nigerian Solid Mineral Corporation will be established.

He asserted that Nigeria must replicate its strategic position in the petroleum industry in order to make its presence felt.
“Creating a business entity that competes in this space can make this achievable.

In light of this, he stated, “the ministry shall work towards the incorporation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.”

Alake promised that the company will give Nigerian businessmen seeking capital overseas strong support in validating their investment plans.

In order to aid the nation in battling illegal mining and smuggling, he said that the ministry would establish a security tax force and mines police.

“Let me declare once more that the ministry is providing such individuals 30 days of grace to join a miners’ cooperative or find another line of work to do.

Anyone found on a mining site without a clear status will be subject to the full force of the law once the time limit has passed.

This message will be translated into Nigerian languages and played on the radio to make sure that everyone is aware of the instruction.

In the solid minerals industry, a revitalised security framework will go into effect in October.

“This will include the Mine Police, sourced from the Nigerian Police and specially trained to detect illegal mining and apprehend offenders,” he said.

According to Alake, the new Mines Surveillance Security Task Force would coordinate the mine police and take proactive measures to address high risk instances of mining law violations.

He declared that the federal and state governments would be encouraged to entrust competent courts with the prosecution of instances involving unauthorised miners.

According to him, the ministry will see to it that several ineffective areas, including geo-data, lax implementation and enforcement, inadequate environmental, safety, and health rules, among others, were properly handled. (NAN)