Mines and Metal Sector: Highlights Of 2019

Mines and Metal Sector: Highlights Of 2019 .

With just a couple of days to bid bye to 2019, a year of historic election in Nigeria, The Rock Post magazine, Ogwuche Sunday presents highlights of activities in the solid minerals and steel sector under the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD).

A good part of the year witnessed inactivity of the highest order in all real sectors of the economy as the storms of the general elections claimed all the first quarter of the year, and the interval between the dissolution of the immediate past cabinet and the constitution of the current one created some vacuum, yet a lot still happened.

To begin with, former Minister of State, Abubakar Bawa Bwari, reportedly announced that a platinum group of high quality had been discovered in the Kuchiko village of Suleja in Niger State.The Minister who made the affirmation after when he paid an assessment visit to the exploration camp of AG Vision, one of the companies contracted to carry out intensive search for solid minerals across the country, there in April said a preliminary report by the company shows high deposit of the minerals being looked for. According to him, the development shows that the N15 billion earmarked by the federal government to fund its National Integrated Minerals Exploration Project aimed at generating detailed geoscience data of quality and quantity of available minerals in the country had started yielding fruit.

The 2nd Nigerian Metallurgical Industry Stakeholders’s Forum (MISF) (Engagement with the South-South Zone), themed: “Development of the Nigeria’s Metal Sector-A Panacea for National Development and Imperative for Economic Diversification” organised in Asaba, the Delta State Capital within the same period where stakeholders had a robust discourse on the way forward for the metal sector was one landmark in the quest to exposition the sector for effective performance. There participants    agreed that the Metallurgical Industry Bill (MIB) said to be in the court of the 8th National Assembly (NASS) is one that when signed into law will make the sector vibrant and viable again hence everything possible should be done to ensure it is passed and signed as soon as possible.

Presenting his goodwill address, the Secretary General, Association of African Iron and Steel, Prof. Sanusi Mohammed who disclosed that the bill had passed through 2nd reading said the bill is all that was required to get the sector working again, adding that lack of regulatory mechanisms in the sector has been the bane of progress.

Pursuant to plans by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) to rehabilitate and reposition the once renowned Ladi Kwali Pottery Training Centre under the World Bank assisted Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MINDIVER) programme in line with the diversification agenda of government and and in a bid to satisfy and economic and aesthetic aims for which it was initially set up,  the former Minister of State, Abubakar Bawa Bwari visited the centre recently with a delegation from the World Bank headed by Nura Arfaa, also in April. The minister who was represented by the Director, Steel, Ime Ekrikpo said government’s mission is to rehabilitate the abandoned centre through the MINDIVER- an intervention programme coordinated by Linus Adie under the ministry.

Early May witnessed the emergence of an association named “Small Scale and Artisanal Miners Association (SAMAN) under the LEADERSHIP of Alh. Nasir Wada. At a inaugural meeting, the group roled out their objectives among which was that they were out to work with other bodies within the sector to address the challenges faced by the small scale miners, who dominate mining in the country.

In move to kick-start the process of  rebirth for the long abandoned Ladi Kwali pottery Centre in Suleja,  Niger State, a six-man steering committee for the rehabilitation of the centre was inaugurated, with Engr Sani Alhassan as Chairman.

Inaugurating the committee, the Minister, who was represented by the Project Coordinator of the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) under the ministry, Mr Linus Adie, also a member of the committee, said “Our target is to re-create the glory of the past era and surpass it”.

To officially recognise the end to the tenure of the present administration’s first cabinet, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) organised a send-forth dinner in Abuja which brought together major and miner players in the industry to speak on the gains of the first term and how to consolidate on them to move the industry forward.

There the very elated immediate past Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Abubuakar Bawa Bwari, said that working together with the staff, he and his former boss (now the executive governor of Ekiti State), Dr Kayode Fayemi, have been able to raise the bar of mining activities in Nigeria.

In his emotive words he said, “We came to a ministry that was somehow lifeless, a ministry that was in coma so to say. We worked with you; we all sat down and identified the problems and decided to develop a roadmap.

“That road map has helped us with your hardwork, cooperation, commitment and patriotism and brought us where we are today. We can all beat our chest to say that we came; we saw, and we’ve raised the bar of mining activities in Nigeria,” urging the staff to extend the same cooperation given to them to the next Minister to do more.

A one-day Workshop organised by the ministry for players in the metals sector in the South-South Geo-political Zone held in Port- Harcourt during which the federal government reiterated its commitment to stimulating  Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Metals Sector to enhance their productivity and economic growth.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD), , stated this while declaring open

on Wednesday.

In a statement issued, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu

who was represented by Director, ASM Department of the Ministry, Mr. Patrick Ojeka, said the workshop was aimed at sensitising and stimulating SMEs in the metals sector with a view to improve their contributions to the nation ‘s GDP in line with government’ focus on diversifying the economy.

According to him, the SMEs in the metals sector that are engaged in the manufacturing, fabrication, production and supply of spare parts, have been identified by the ministry as the engine of growth and development of the nation’s economy  hence the need to further create awareness on the potentials and roles the SMEs are expected to play.

In furtherance of the effort to launch Nigeria into global mining limelight, a Nigerian delegation led by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Mu’azu participated at 17th edition of Africa DownUnder Mining Conference held 4-6 September, 2019 in Perth, the ‘mining capital’ of Australia. A statement issued said potential foreign mining investors were there convinced of adequate and accurate geoscience data that can guarantee successful investment  in the Nigerian mining sector, while

quoting the Managing Director, Patersons Securities Limited, Michael Atkins, an investor in the mining sector who is one of those advising on Kogi Iron, as saying that the company (Kogi Iron)  had moved to the next phase and about to start producing billets.

In what could be described as a starting point in the process of having the Russians, the original builders of the famous abandoned Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASC), otherwise known as Ajaokuta Steel Mill, return to complete the project, it took the current Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite just a few days on assumption of office to host the Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshir on a courtesy visit in his office.

The Rock Post reports that the Minister assured his guest of government’s readiness to welcome any collaboration aimed at revitalising the steel complex to operate in full capacity, adding that the federal government was making frantic efforts to ensure that some sections of the ASC resumed production before the end of 2019.

Within the period under review, Adegbite, while playing host to a delegation of the Association of Miners and Processors of Barite in Nigeria (AMAPOB)  who were on a courtesy visit in his office, expressed  federal government’s readiness to support local investors in barite mining and processing in Nigeria.

The Minister who however gave conditions for the support said for the association to win government to its side,  it has to ensure that the barite they produce and process can match the quality and price of the imported one.

The Minister equally hosted a delegation from the Mining/Solid Minerals Group  of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), led by the Chairman, Otunba Alatise, who were in his office in Abuja on a courtesy visit, during which he threw his weight behind creation of private-driven Nigeria Mineral Exchange.

He said “The Minerals Exchange is good but the private sector must be at the forefront in driving it while government supports.”

Following the approval of the resolutions from the meeting of senior officials of both countries which took place on the 26th to 27th September, 2019 by a ministerial team of both Nigeria and South Africa and prior to the commencement of the 9th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (NSABNC) held with the Presidents of both countries in attendance between 2nd to 4th October, 2019 in South Africa, the two countries reportedly entered into a bilateral agreement bordering mainly on development of solid minerals among agriculture and human capital.

A statement revealed that the Senior Officials during their meeting reviewed the performance of the existing MoUs between the two countries and proposed a 2-year implementation plan to last from January, 2020 to December, 2022.

The 9 areas of cooperation proposed and approved by the ministerial teams included: mineral beneficiation and processing; minerals & metals value addition; advancement of geo-scientific knowledge generation; regulatory framework and policy and investment promotion.

Others are joint study tour on Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM) activities; Contribution to Energy Security; Capacity Building; as well as Contribution to Agriculture and Food Security.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite in a chat with the media at the end of it all said the meeting was timely and mutually beneficial as it provided opportunity for the two countries to discuss cooperation on different sectors, particularly the Mines and Steel Sector.

The Minister signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Trade and Investment of the Russian Federation on the 23rd October, 2019 during the Russia- Africa summit held in in that country with President Buhari as the head of the Nigerian delegation.

A statement issued by the S. A. on Media to the Minister, Ayodeji Adeyemi noted that the MoU which the Minister signed on behalf of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for the ministry, is for scientific and technical cooperation in the field of Geosciences between both countries.

Expressing delight over the sealed deal which also has the African Export-Import Bank as a party to it, the Minister said “President Buhari has given us so much support in the mining sector and it is now bearing fruits.’’

The areas of cooperation as captured in the agreement include exchanges of scientific and technical information; exchange of study visits and scientists; collaboration on research activities; joint organisation of symposia, conferences workshops and training programmes; Geological maps compilation and regional mineralisation correlation; methodology and technology on geochemical mapping and remote sensing; Aero-geophysical mapping; Marine geology; Research and monitoring of Geo-hazards amongst others.

This second romance with Russia, to many means a long dimmed hope of a functional Ajaokuta Steel Company rekindled. The Nigerian government during the submit struck a major deal with Russia on the completion of the steel company as a fruit of the agreement reached during a meeting with President Muhammadu Bulgari and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia on Wednesday, October, 2019.

A detailed project report of findings of 1977 by contracted Messrs Tyazhpromexport (TPE)  of Russia confirmed suitable iron ore deposits within Kabba-Okene-Lokoja triangle thus informing the location of the steel plant within a 100km radius of the materials in Ajaokuta, and the contract for the building was awarded to the Russian company in 1979. As at 1994, the construction of the plant had reached over 90% completion with some finishing mills commissioned. The poor funding of the sector started thereafter  and finally the contract was terminated in 1996.

On his part, NGSA DG, Dr Abdulrazaq Garba commended Adegbite for his role as the masterminder of the agreement.

“The signing of the MOU is another dimension to the success that the ministry is achieving in international collaborations,’’ he said.

The Minister, Arc. Adegbite paid a two-day working visit to the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) and the Ajaokuta Steel Complex in kogi State, and  during the inspection of the  facilities, he reiterated government’s committed to have both companies fully operational in the shortest time possible.

He charged management of the two complementing companies to consider upgrading from mere maintenance of the complex to manufacturing those simple things people keep importing even as the installed equipment has the capacity to produce them locally.

The Hon. Minister embarked on a familiarisation tour of departments and agencies under his ministry in October. The big story that emanated at the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) was that the core mining agency had  revoked 1, 566 licences of mineral titles not being used by their holders in recent times.

MCO’s Director-General, Engr Obadiah Nkom made this known while playing host to the Minister in his office in Abuja.

“And I can tell you that it is on record that we have revoked about 1, 566 mineral titles in recent times in accordance with the law, because we don’t expect people to be executive miners, and it is continuous process,” Nkom said.

He also disclosed that beginning from January, the agency had raked in N2 billion as revenue from the royalties, licence fees, etc. for the ministry (by implication: the nation).

While at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) in continuation of the tour, a modern geological museum, with assorted samples of solid minerals in the country,  was commissioned.

At the 4th edition of the Annual Nigeria Mining, organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) in collaboration with Price waterhouse Coopers (PwC), hosted by the Ministry of Mines & Steel Development at the NAF Conference & Suites, Abuja

The Minister, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite expressed optimism that the proposed Mineral Export Guidelines will end royalty payment evasion by operators in the mining sector.

Delivering his opening speech titled: “Stock-Take of 2018 and Vision for the Development  of Mining Industry in Nigeria” in Abuja, Adegbite said “Under the proposed Mineral Export Guidelines, there will be no room for royalty payment evasion.

“All mineral exports shall be inspected by government appointed independent pre-shipment inspection agents, who are empowered by law to render quantity and quality control services and monitor pricing. This control mechanism is in accordance with the Pre-Shipment Inspection of Exports Act.”

The Minister siezed the opportunity to intimate the loud crowd of participants from around the world at the 3-day event with the various measures being taken by government to address the challenges stunting the growth of the industry such as funding, inadequate geoscience data, bad perception about the country, and other constraints.

The World Bank, being a major development partner of the ministry through the MINDIVER project paid its second and final pre-rehabilitation visitation visit to the Ladi Kwali Pottery Training Centre in Suleja, Niger State.

The ministry had during the first visit earlier in the year announced its plans to revamp the centre and restore its lost glory through the MINDIVER project and achieve the economic and aestetic aims for which it was initially set up.

The World Bank Group representative and Head, Energy and Extractives unit in Washington DC, Michael Stanley was led to the centre by the MINDIVER Project Coordinator, Mr Linus Adie.

As it is traditional for all the ministries to defend their budget before the NASS, the Minister, Arc. Adegbite appeared before the House Committee on Mines and House Committee on Steel to brief them on the activities of the Ministry where he identified funding as a major constraint, urging the lawmakers to look into increasing the budgetary allocation of the ministry to enable it meet the responsibility of diversifying the economy placed on its shoulder.

The third and last day of the 2019 and 3rd annual meeting of the National Council on Minerals and Mining Development (NCMMRD) held in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State between the 6th and 8th, November, 2019 witnessed a huge crowd of stakeholders who converged on the town to brainstorm on the way forward for the sector.

An information of importance disclosed by the Minister while delivering the keynote address on the last and final day of the event was that the federal government had issued registration certificates to 253 mineral buying operators across the country.

He said, “To ensure that artisanal miners have access to market through the formal economic system, government has initiated the establishment of private mineral buying centres.

“Currently, the ministry has issued registration certificates to 253 Mineral Buying Centre operators across the country.”

The Minister said as part of the sector reform programme and in line with the artisanal mining formalisation policy of government, a total of 1, 759 artisanal and small scale miners sites have so far been identified across the Nigeria.

He also revealed that with consistent interventions by the federal government, through the ministry, 1, 346 artisanal mining operators have been drawn into forming registered Artisanal Mining Cooperatives in readiness to access Small-Scale Mining Licences, with each of the cooperatives having additional 20 mine workers in addition to over 10 members.

As part of efforts towards  increasing mining sector revenue generation, the Minister, Arc. Adegbite inaugurated a revenue optimisation committee headed by the Minister of State, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, with a mandate among others to block all avenues of revenue leakage in the sector. Consequently, Dr Ogah during a recent courtesy visit to the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, stressed the need for the federal and state governments to close ranks in taking the sector to the next level in accordance with Mr President’s directive towards diversifying the economy.

Ogah said “President Muhammadu Buhari had approved 13% derivation on solid minerals mining as in the oil sector, as such there should be collaboration between the federal and state governments in order to close up all leakages to be able to derive better revenue generation in the sector.”

Within the same period, the Minister received visiting International Executive Director of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Mark Robinson and the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Transparency Initiative, ( NEITI), Waziri Adio at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja. Adegbite who was represented by  the Minister of State, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah at the brief event

stated that the ministry was determined to ensure that registered mining Companies operate within the confines of the  regulations and guidelines structure of the Nigeria Extractive Transparency Initiative (NEITI), to achieve total transparency in the sector.

The 2nd of December witnessed the opening of the first ever “Downstream mineral Workshop-A Value Chain Initiative” organised by the ministry in collaboration with with Lagos Business School (LBS) and MINDIVER.

Declaring the workshop open, the Minister, Arc. Adegbite reiterated government’s resolve to enact policies that would help develop the solid mineral downstream industries that can add value to the mineral resources in the country.

Another occasion that is key to the growth of the sector was the recent courtesy visit to his office  by a delegation of professionals from NMGS who were led by its President, Engr Obadiah Nkom.

In line with government’s quest to stop revenue leakage and encourage value addition in the solid mineral industry, the Minister, Arc. Adegbite charged members of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) to bring their wealth of experience to bear in ensuring that laboratory facilities in Kaduna and other locations are upgraded to standard for mineral analysis certification in the country.

In furtherance of the campaign against revenue leakage, the Minister of State was on a one-day working visit to the Governor of Nasarawa State (Home of Solid Minerals) where he affirmed that a new mining administration policy would soon be out, adding that the new policies would help minimise stealing of minerals in the country by ensuring that every mineral taken out is properly recorded and monitored.

The Council for Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG) has just inducted 563 members were registered as professionals in addition to the 2188 members on ground, bringing the total number of extractive industry professionals in the country to 2,751, while 86 companies were registered as corporate members in addition to the 84 on ground, giving a total of 166 corporate organisations at the moment.

The Minister, Arc.  Adegbite while speaking as the Chief Guest of Honour Induction Ceremony, which was the 9th  in the series and 1st in 5 years, held in Abuja on the 18th December, stressed the need for COMEG to ensure the highest level of professionalism that will move the sector forward.

He tasked all stakeholders to rally around  COMEG to ensure that it is repositioned to function and discharge its mandate of regulating, controlling and enforcing the provisions of the laws and regulations guiding mineral exploration and exploitation effectively in the country.