"Nigeria to grant mining licences only to companies that process locally"

" Nigeria to grant mining licences only to companies that process locally \r\n Nigeria \u00a0will only grant new mining licences to companies that present a plan on how\u00a0 minerals \u00a0would be processed locally, under new guidelines being developed, a government spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.\r\n\r\nThis signals a shift from Nigeria\u2019s decades-old policy of exporting raw materials as African governments take steps to extract more value from their solid mineral deposits.\r\n\r\nTo spur investment, Nigeria will offer investors incentives including\u00a0tax waivers for importing mining equipment, make it easier to secure electricity generation licences, allow full repatriation of profits and boost security, Segun Tomori, a spokesperson for Nigeria\u2019s minister of solid minerals development said.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn exchange, we have to review their plans for setting up a plant and how they would add value to the Nigerian economy,\u201d Tomori said. He did not say when the guidelines would be finalised or come into effect.\r\n\r\nHowever, last week the minister of solid minerals development, Dele Alake, said it was now government policy to make value addition a condition for obtaining licences so as to create jobs and help local communities.\r\n\r\nAlake, who also chairs an African mining strategy group comprising mining ministers from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia, is pushing for a continent-wide effort to get maximum local benefit from mineral exploration.\r\n\r\nNigeria, Africa\u2019s top energy producer, has struggled to extract value from its vast mineral resources due to poor incentives and neglect. The underdeveloped mining sector contributes less than 1% of the country\u2019s gross domestic product.\r\n\r\nLast year Nigeria exported mostly tin ore and concentrates worth about 137.59 billion naira ($108.34 million), mainly to China and Malaysia, according to the country\u2019s statistics bureau.\r\n\r\nThe government aims to drive more investment into the sector by issuing more licenses. It has set up a state-owned solid minerals corporation offering investors a 75% stake and established a special security unit tasked with fighting illegal miners."

"Nigeria to grant mining licences only to companies that process locally"

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