By Merit Ibe
The Mining and Solid Minerals Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said with the proposed nationwide ban on mining activities by the Federal Government, existing local investors who have secured loans to finance their mining projects were at the risk of losing investments of several years.
The Director-Generalo of LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, who made the remark, also noted that the announcement has further validated to foreign and local investors that it is unsafe to invest in Nigeria’s mining sector, adding that the proposal has damaged the diversification plans of the federal government to pursue a non-oil exports-based economy.
Almona posited that the duly licensed mining companies should be clearly differentiated and distanced from the activities of bandits and terrorists whom the National Security Council has based its proposal upon. “We need to enforce all the necessary laws and policies to guarantee security of local and foreign investments in the solid minerals sector as well as ensure that investors get best returns on their investments.”
The chamber urged the government to empower the solid minerals and mining sector through the deployment of Geographic Information System (GIS), automation of application and processing of mining licenses, leases and permits all through a one-stop-shop platform.
“The Integrated Automation and Interactive Solid Minerals Portal (IAISMP) should truly be a go-to portal for real time information on the sector. We should also finalize the plan to build a national electronic geo-data archiving management system to be called the Nigerian Geo-Data Center at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA). All of these would make it easy to access information on mining by investors across the globe.
“We cannot afford to jeopardize the fortunes of mining in Nigeria with a blanket ban on mining activities when we should be able to isolate illegal miners and demobilize criminals from mining sites. We urge the government to reconsider ways to demobilize criminal activities from mining sites and create a safe environment where mining can thrive.”