Nigeria Revokes 1,263 Mineral Licences to Boost Investor Confidence in Solid Minerals Sector
The Nigerian government is taking decisive action to reform its underdeveloped mining sector, revoking 1,263 mineral licences to remove dormant and speculative operators and open the door to serious investors seeking opportunities in the country’s solid minerals industry.
The affected licences, now slated for deletion from the Electronic Mining Cadastral System portal of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office (MCO), include 584 exploration licences, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licences, and 470 small-scale mining leases.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, who announced the revocation through his Special Assistant on Media, explained that many companies failed to meet their annual service fee obligations.
Approving the revocation following the MCO’s recommendation, Alake emphasised that Nigeria’s mining sector cannot thrive under speculative practices.
“The era of obtaining licences and keeping them in drawers for the highest bidder, while financially capable and industrious businessmen are complaining of access to good sites, is over. The annual service fee is the minimum evidence that you are interested in mining. You don’t have to wait for us to revoke the licence because the law allows you to return the license if you change your mind,” the minister said.
He further warned that the revocation does not exempt defaulters from paying their outstanding fees, adding that the list of defaulters would be forwarded to the country’s anti-graft agency, the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission. “This is to encourage due diligence and emphasise the consequences of inundating the license application processes with speculative activities,” he added.
Nigeria has acted similarly in the past. In April 2024, 924 dormant mining titles were revoked and immediately offered to investors on a “first come, first served” basis. That batch included 528 exploration licences, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licences, and 273 small-scale mining licences.
Alake explained then that those measures were necessary to curb “licence racketeering,” a practice where valuable mineral titles are obtained and then sold to the highest bidder on a secondary market.
“By creating a secondary, black market to pawn mineral licences, the unsuspecting and unwary investor is misled into believing that he can only obtain licence by patronising the black market. This discourages investment,” Alake said.
“It is our belief that this decision will sanitise the licensing system by penalising those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar,” he added.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is rich not only in petroleum but also in minerals such as lithium, gold, and limestone. The government is actively wooing investors to the mining sector through tax waivers, full repatriation of profits, and stricter licensing rules that require local processing of extracted minerals.
The move brings to 3,794 the total mineral titles revoked under the current administration, including 619 for defaulting on annual service fees and 912 for dormancy last year. By freeing up previously held licences, Nigeria hopes to attract new investments into exploration and production, especially in mineral-rich regions with high commercial potential.
