Connect with us

Economy

Nigeria Generates N814.59bn from Solid Minerals in 14 Years

Published

on

solid minerals production

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.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

Unlisted Securities Bourse Appreciates 0.24% Midweek

Published

on

unlisted securities index

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.24 per cent on Wednesday, December 17, pulling the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) up by 8.62 points to 3,614.64 points from 3,606.02 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation added N4.72 billion to close at N2.164 billion compared with the N2.160 trillion it ended on Tuesday.

The growth was inspired by four securities, which finished on the gainers’ log, neutralising the losses printed by two other securities on the trading platform.

MRS Oil Plc gained N17.90 on Wednesday to end at N196.90 per unit versus N179.00 per unit, NASD Plc appreciated by 59 Kobo to N58.50 per share from N57.91 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added 15 Kobo to sell at N60.19 per unit versus N60.04 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc rose by 6 Kobo to 64 Kobo per share from 58 Kobo per share.

On the flip side, Golden Capital Plc extended its loss by 76 Kobo to end at N7.75 per unit versus N8.51 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slipped by 35 Kobo to N39.65 per share from N40.00 per share.

Yesterday, the volume of transactions increased by 737.3 per cent to 20.4 million units from 2.4 million units, but the value of trades fell by 33.8 per cent to N72.2 million from N109.1 million, and the number of deals slid by 62.5 per cent to 21 deals from 56 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units sold for N16.4 billion, the second position was occupied by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and the third place was taken by MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

InfraCredit Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, followed by IGI Plc with 1.2 billion units valued at N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.

Continue Reading

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Nears 150,000 Points After 0.26% Growth

Published

on

All-Share Index

By Dipo Olowookere

A 0.26 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday on the back of sustained bargain-hunting by investors.

This happened despite a pocket of profit-taking, with industrial goods losing 0.63 per cent and the energy index shedding 0.05 per cent.

But the insurance space increased by 2.02 per cent, the banking counter appreciated by 1.48 per cent, the commodity sector improved by 0.48 per cent, and the consumer goods segment rose by 0.03 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 383.71 points to 149,842.82 points from 149,459.11 points and the market capitalisation jumped by N244 billion to N95.525 trillion from N95.281 trillion.

The market breadth index remained positive after the bourse finished with 38 price gainers and 23 price losers, indicating a strong investor sentiment.

The quartet of First Holdco, Lasaco Assurance, Veritas Kapital, and Prestige Assurance gained 10.00 per cent to quote at N39.60, N2.75, N1.76, and N1.65, respectively, while Mecure Industries grew by 9.92 per cent to N50.40.

Conversely, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 10.00 per cent to close at N3.15, International Energy Insurance dropped 9.92 per cent to trade at N2.27, McNichols shrank by 6.90 per cent to N2.97, Omatek decreased by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, and Chams dipped by 6.41 per cent to N2.92.

The activity level witnessed a significant surge at midweek, with Ecobank trading 5.3 billion units for N168.7 billion.

Further, First Holdco sold 108.2 million units worth N4.2 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 87.3 million units valued at N606.2 million, FCMB transacted 74.3 million units worth N783.6 million, and Access Holdings sold 41.5 million units for N841.4 million.

At the close of trades, market participants traded 5.9 billion units valued at N216.2 billion in 25,205 deals compared with the 1.0 billion units worth N21.8 billion traded in 23,701 deals a day earlier, showing a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 490.00 per cent, 891.74 per cent, and 6.35 per cent, respectively.

Continue Reading

Economy

Naira Loses 0.25% to Trade N1,455 at Official Market

Published

on

currency in circulation eNaira

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 17, by N3.67 or 0.25 per cent, closing at N1,455.49/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,451.82/$1.

Also, the local currency weakened against the Euro in the official market at midweek by 98 Kobo to close at N1,706.72/€1 versus the previous session’s price of N1,705.74/€1, but improved against the Pound Sterling by 75 Kobo to trade at N1,943.28/£1 compared with the N1,943.98/£1 it traded a day earlier.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency lost N3 against the greenback to finish at N1,463/$1 versus N1,460/$1 and in the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,475/$1.

Thin US dollar inflows from exporters, non-bank corporate, foreign portfolio investors and absence of immediate intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen supply triggered fresh pressure.

This is coming off the back of decline in inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market which decreased to $716.3 million last week from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.

The intervention comes as the CBN expect inflows from Detty December to alleviate need for FX demand, but exorbitant local prices may be keeping spending at bay.

Regardless of the seasonal demand, positive FX support for the local currency through 2025 signals a deliberate action to ensure the local currency maintains the trading range amidst growing external reserves. Latest data showed that gross external reserves position advanced to $45.47 billion, reflecting a 11.2 per cent Year-to-Date (YTD) gain.

In the cryptocurrency market, there was selling pressure as traders liquidated positions amid a short-rally, leading Litecoin (LTC) to slip by 5.2 per cent to close at $75.12m, as Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.0 per cent to $0.3619,  and Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to finish at $0.1247.

In addition, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.7 per cent to $1.83, Solana (SOL) crashed by 4.1 per cent to $122.62, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 3.9 per cent to $2,826.62, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 3.4 per cent to $833.07, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.5 per cent to sell at $86,436.66, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Continue Reading

Trending