Fayemi: Minister, Mines and Steel Development

The Miners Association of Nigeria, has appealed to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) to review downward mining license fees

President of the association, Alhaji Sani Shehu, made the appeal on Sunday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said that the association was calling for further downward review of license fees to encourage miners not to abandon the profession due to high cost of obtaining or renewing mining titles.

“The sector is still at the infant stage and government needs to encourage miners and not to scare them from the industry.

“The association wrote a letter to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Feyemi last year to review the mining license payments and he reviewed it.

“We are calling for more reduction because mining is capital intensive,” he added.

Commenting on mining licenses that were revoked by the ministry last year, Shehu said the association did not regret the action, as the ministry followed due process before revocation.

He said that the mining titles were revoked due to non payment of license dues, non utilisation of mining titles for a specific period as provided by the mining act and among others.

The president said the association plans to sensitise its members to adhere to the ministry’s regulations to pay their dues as at when due and to effectively utilise their mining licenses to avoid revocation.

He said that the association would soon conduct roadshows in the six geopolitical zones to sensitise operators in the sector to adhere to the rules and regulations of the sector.

(NAN)