N5trn Can Be Generated From Mining Annually – Dr. Fayemi

Nigerian can generate a whopping N5 trillion revenue annually from the mining sector, an analysis by the Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria has shown even as the sector is targeted to contribute 5% to 7% to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over next 10 to 15 years.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi disclosed this to the House of Representative during a sectoral debate of the House. He stated that the Federal Government was yet to criminalise illegal mining in the country because of the number of people involved in the informal mining adding that government was making efforts to integrate them into the formal sector.

Fayemi further noted that revamping the country’s mining sector was a function of success on six key dimensions including clear minerals and steel focus; institutions and governance; stakeholder engagement; industry participants; geo-sciences data and information; and enabling environment.

“Should Nigeria successfully implement the proposed recommendations, growth is expected to return to the sector in the form of new exploration activity, operations and production from active mining, functional and expanded processing and refining capacity, and higher value-addition in exports. The net outcome will be the creation of thousands of direct jobs and potentially hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs.

“We anticipate contribution to mining GDP to exceed $25 billion by 2026 as industries are better able to use the output of the sector, substituting for imports. Analysis conducted by a major stakeholder in the solid minerals sector, the Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria, also indicates that we can generate at least N5 trillion annually from mining and exporting of its vast solid mineral deposits,” Fayemi said.