KEY POINTS
- The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has identified the clustering and formalization of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) as critical to boosting mineral exports.
- Executive Secretary Mrs. Nonye Ayeni revealed that Benue State alone possesses over 40 mineral deposits in commercial quantities that remain underutilized.
- The council aims to transition informal mining operations into structured enterprises to address challenges in quality control, financing, and global market access.
- Stakeholders highlighted that moving away from raw mineral exportation is essential to retaining economic value within the Nigerian economy.
MAIN STORY
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has launched a strategic initiative to transform the nation’s solid minerals sector through the promotion of mining clusters. At a stakeholder engagement meeting in Makurdi on Tuesday, Executive Secretary Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, represented by Mrs. Chika Okany, emphasized that the formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining is a direct mandate to diversify Nigeria’s export base.
Ayeni noted that while Nigeria is blessed with vast mineral wealth, the continuous exportation of raw, unprocessed minerals has historically deprived the country of significant economic gains.
To reverse this trend, the NEPC is promoting the formation of mining clusters which allow individual operators to pool their resources to establish common facility centers and shared processing hubs. This collaborative model provides miners with access to value-addition technology and quality control laboratories that would otherwise be unaffordable for a single artisanal operation. By working in unison, these enterprises can significantly reduce their individual production and logistics costs while ensuring improved compliance with stringent regulatory and environmental standards.
Beyond operational efficiency, clustering serves as a powerful tool for global market entry. Structured mining groups enjoy enhanced bargaining power in international trade, allowing them to bypass predatory middle-men and access formal financing. Local officials and trade experts in Benue noted that artisanal mining already plays a vital role in community livelihoods but requires this transition to an export-oriented structure to unlock its full potential. Formalization is being framed not merely as a regulatory hurdle, but as an empowerment tool to bring hard-working miners into the mainstream economy and ensure Nigeria’s mineral wealth benefits its citizens directly.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
- “If we must compete globally, informality must give way to structure, compliance, and value addition. Clustering is a strategic tool for transforming ASM into export-ready enterprises,” stated Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, Executive Secretary of NEPC.
- “Individual artisanal miners operating in isolation usually struggle to meet the needed standard,” noted Dr. James Uagh, representing the Association of Solid Minerals Miners and Marketers of Nigeria.
- “Formalisation is not all about regulation, as it is also about empowerment and bringing hard-working miners into the mainstream economy,” said Mr. Alumo Orpin, Benue Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment.
WHAT’S NEXT
- The NEPC Benue office will facilitate dialogue between miners and quality control experts to begin the formation of pilot aggregation hubs.
- Stakeholders are expected to explore new partnership models for shared services and laboratories to assist with mineral certification.
- Follow-up engagements are planned to link newly formed clusters with international buyers looking for ethically sourced and processed Nigerian minerals.
BOTTOM LINE
The Bottom Line is that Nigeria is seeking to end the “raw export” era by organizing its artisanal miners into powerful economic blocs. The NEPC insists that through clustering and formalization, the solid minerals sector can finally move from the shadows of informality into a leading role in Nigeria’s non-oil export growth.
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