The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals, plans to establish a Solid Minerals Corporation, which will be a state-backed company, to manage its minerals and provide funding in the mining sector.
In a statement on Sunday by Deputy Director of Press in the Ministry, Alaba Balogun, the minister, Mr Dele Alake, lamented the lack of access to funding for mining operators during the unveiling of the ‘Agenda for the Transformation of the Solid Minerals for International Competitiveness and Domestic Prosperity’, in Abuja on Sunday.
The new company, according to the minister, is strategic in helping the country revive the mining sector.
The statement added the company would have subsidiaries doing business in the seven priority areas that require immediate intervention, which include gold, coal, limestone, bitumen, lead, iron ore, and baryte.
Nigeria has similar companies like the National Iron-Ore Company, which the minister said would be reviewed, alongside the Bitumen Concessioning Programme.
Alake also directed that all miners engaged in the illegal extraction of mineral resources in the country an ultimatum of 30 days to join notable mining cooperatives or face the full wrath of the law.
