By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria generated N814.59 billion between 2007 and 2021 from the solid minerals sector, with the 2021 earnings of N193.59 billion being the highest in the period under review.
This was disclosed by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in its 2021 Solid Minerals Industry Report, tagged Impact Built on Blocking Leakages to Grow Revenue’ unveiled by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr George Akume, represented by Mr Maurice Mbaeri, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office.
The report, the 12th in the series, covers actual payments by 1,214 companies operating in the sector and receipts from three key government agencies.
It covers the quantities of minerals produced, utilised and exported from the sector, reconciles the physical/financial transactions and undertakes special verification on some processes.
Presenting the report, Mr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary, NEITI, said the figure showed an increase of N60.32 billion or 51.89 per cent growth compared to the 2020 revenue flows of N116.82 billion.
This positive trend, he said, reflected a continuation of the upward positive trajectory observed in the sector over the past five years.
“This contribution, though a significant increase over past years, is still abysmal considering the potentials of the sector to the Nigerian economy,” he said.
Mr Orji said the 2021 Solid Minerals report reviewed, ascertained, reconciled and reported all revenues and investment flows to and from the government in the solid minerals sector.
He said the NEITI report also covered balances payable/receivable from financial inflows, tracked the funds and utilisation meant for the development of solid minerals in Nigeria.
According to Mr Orji, the funds include the Natural Resources Development Fund, Solid Minerals Development Fund, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development’s MinDiver Programme and Solid Minerals Development Funds under the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme operated through the Bank of Industry.
A breakdown of the revenues showed that the Federal Inland Revenue Service collected N169.52 billion, the Mining Cadastre Office generated N4.3 billion, and the Mining Inspectorate Department generated N3.62 billion.
He said the revenue to the federation accounts from the sector in the past 15 years, which was N818.04 billion, was significantly low compared to the sector’s economic potential.
On Production, Mr Orji said the report disclosed that the total volume of solid minerals used or sold in 2021 was 76.28 million tons with a royalty payment of N3.57 billion.
“The minerals with the largest production volume in the year under review are granite, limestone, laterite, clay and sand.
“Dangote Plc accounted for the highest production with a total production of 28.8 million tons. Bua and Lafarge accounted for 8.4 and 4.3 million tons, while Zeberced accounted for 3.3 million tons, respectively.
“Ogun state recorded the highest production in the year under review, with a total of 17.5 million tons, followed by Kogi state with 16.3 million tons and Edo with 8 million tons.
“The least production volume was recorded in Borno State with 25,500 tons,” he said.
The NEITI boss said a total of 2,045 licenses were issued, with exploration licenses accounting for 840 (an increase of 62.79 per cent), Small Scale Mining Leases at 771, Quarry Lease at 255, Reconnaissance Permit at 139 and Mining leases at 40.
On export, he said the total minerals exported in 2021 was 142.54 million tons with a Free on Board value of $101.29 million, an increase of 138.57 per cent from the $42.46 million reported in the 2020 report.
He said China was identified as the principal destination of Nigeria’s mineral exports, accounting for 97 per cent and 88 per cent of the export volume and value while other destinations for Nigeria’s minerals included Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
On solid minerals’ contribution to the economy, he said the report revealed that the sector contributed 0.63 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while there was an improvement compared to previous years, where it contributed 0.45 per cent in 2020 and 0.26 per cent in 2019.
According to him, the sector has not yet reached its full potential in making a significant impact on the overall Nigerian economy.
He identified a total of N1.06 billion as outstanding company liability to the government within the period under review as a result of the failure of some companies to pay their annual service fees for the respective mineral titles. The annual service fee is a statutory payment by mineral title holders for each cadastral unit on mineral titles.
Dipo Olowookere 
Modupe Gbadeyanka