Analysis of data provided in the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) audit dashboard showed that the country’s revenue from the sector in 2008 stood at N9.5 billion and moved to N19.4 billion in 2009. In 2010, the figure declined to N17.3 billion but moved to N26.9 billion, N31.4 billion, N33.8 billion in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. In 2014, the revenue went to N49.6 billion before hitting N65.7 billion in 2015.

However, while the total royalty earned for the period under review stood at N7.4 billion, the total metric tons of solid mineral produced in the country stood at about 330 million metric tons with contributions from limestones hovering at 54.5 per cent of the total production.

According to the report, production of solid mineral reached the peak in 2014, when the country produced about 47 million metric tons of solid mineral while the lowest production was recorded in 2007, when the country produced about 13 million metric tons of solid minerals.

Though Nigeria is blessed with numbers of solid minerals, including coal, lignite and Coke, gold, columbite wolframite and tantalite, bitumen, iron Ore, uranium, mining of minerals only accounts for 0.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a situation blamed on the influence of vast oil resources.

Chief Executive Officer, EPINA Technologies Limited, Prof. Eguakhide Oaikhinan, noted that while the sector could add as much as $50 billion (about N15.3 trillion) to the nation’s GDP by climbing from 0.5 per cent to 10 per cent growth, government has been insensitive to the call for the overhaul of the sector.

“Everybody seems to be concerned with oil or the mining of the minerals. In the raw state, these mined minerals sell at very low prices but when characterised and processed, it could have very competitive market value for the country,” he noted.

While the Advisory Partner and Mining Leader at Pricewaterhousecoopers (PwC) Nigeria, Cyril Azobu, told The Guardian that Nigeria is a fast evolving mining jurisdiction, he insisted that the sector could contribute much more given that most of the country’s rich solid minerals endowment remain largely untapped.

He noted that the lack of proper policy in the sector remained a basic challenges there must be tackled if desired objective would be achieved in the sector.

Azobu said: “There has over the years been a preponderance of largely informal operations fraught with the use of crude equipment and extremely dangerous working practices because of the absence of a formal policy on artisanal mining.

“We have a situation where for a very long time the solid minerals sector was neglected by the government. The agriculture sector also suffered from this neglect. Because of this, the sector has remained underdeveloped with no real structures put in place by successive governments to unlock its potential.”

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi disclosed at the signing of MOU with Bank of Industry, BOI, for local miners to access the fund, and integrate them into formal sector.

He explained, “We are in the first instance launching a N5 billion fund, with our ministry’s pilot contribution of N2.5 billion, while BOI will support with another N2.5 billion.”

According to him, with the agreement, we appoint the bank as Custodian and manager of the Nigerian Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Financing Support Fund for mining projects.

“The loans would be made available to certified industry participants at a single digit interest rate of 5 percent per annum, which is by far about the most attractive within our jurisdiction”, he added.

The minister further disclosed, the single obligor limit of loans to be granted under the Fund should be from N100, 000 to N10million for artisanal miners, and N10million to N100 million for small-scale miners.

He expressed delight that Solid Minerals Development Fund, SMDF is now spearheading sourcing of a $600million investment fund for the sector, judging, in 2015,out of N1 billion allocated to the ministry, only N352 million was released.

Dr. Fayemi commended BOI, saying, “we consider her dependable partner who share our vision and we trust that it would bring their pedigree to bear on this initiative as foremost specialized bank set up to pursue economic development.”

Responding, the Managing Director/CEO, Bank of Industry [BOI] , Olukayode Pitan called on beneficiaries not to see the grant as free money that could be used for other purposes rather than what it is meant for.

Pitan listed the benefits of the grants to include, that of revenue generation, employment creation and capacity building among others.

According to him, before the grants would be released to the target small scale miners, they must pass through the internal mechanism of the Bank.

The loans, which are expected to be paid within one year has single digit interest rate.

The Commissioner for Solid Minerals in the state,  Hon. George Oben’enchi, confirmed this, disclosing that the minerals were discovered at Kokunne forest in Mkpani, Yarkurr Local Government Area of the state.

The Chinese geologists arrived the state few weeks ago as part of understanding between the state government and themselves to help in the mapping out of solid mineral deposits.

Among the newly found solid minerals in the state are uranium, iron ore, manganese, tourmaline, barites, marbles, galina and spherite.

Others are coal, kaolin, sulphite, rutile as well as new limestone deposits.