Nigeria Issues 867 Mining Licences in Q1 2025

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s Mining Cadastral Office (MCO) says it processed 955 applications for mineral title grants but approved a total of 867 licenses during in the first quarter of 2025.

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, made the disclosure in a statement, saying the licenses included 512 exploration licenses, 295 small-scale mining leases, 60 quarry leases, and 5 mining leases.

He revealed this as he announced that the government generated over N6.95 billion in mining fees and registered 118 new private mineral buying centres in the period under review, in what has been described as a major leap toward reforming Nigeria’s mining sector and attracting new investments.

According to him, the achievements reflect the government’s aggressive push to reposition the sector and raise its global competitiveness.

In a related mining development, Nigeria and South Africa last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation in the mining sector, with a focus on investment, knowledge sharing and technology transfer.

The agreement, which falls under the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission framework, was signed in Abuja by South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe, and his Nigerian counterpart, Mr Alake.

The MoU lays the foundation for increased investment and collaboration, particularly in areas such as the use of drone technology and spectral remote sensing for geological mapping and mineral exploration.

Additionally, the agreement includes the exchange of geoscientific data between Nigeria’s Geological Survey Agency and South Africa’s Council for Geoscience. It also outlines plans for training programs on mineral processing, local capacity building and the transfer of advanced technologies, including Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for mineral analysis.

Beyond investment and technology, the MoU also includes joint exploration efforts focused on agro-minerals and energy minerals in Nigeria.