Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has said the country stands to earn more in foreign exchange if the extractive sector of the economy is properly harnessed.
Fayemi disclosed this at the New Telegraph Economic Summit tagged, ‘Nigeria: Beyond the Oil Economy,’ held in Lagos yesterday.
He noted that the sector was largely under-developed and under-harnessed despite the huge opportunities that abound in the sector. According to him, “a lot of exploration activities that are supposed to have taken place have not yet even started to determine the quality and quantity of these huge solid mineral deposits.
“If you go to every part of this country, there are stones and mineral deposits in quantity and grade, waiting to be tapped to determine the commercial quantity and viability of these minerals deposits.
“The government is committed to its role of stimulating the deepening of the industry as a facilitator and not necessarily as an active player. Those who genuinely and are concerned about wealth creation should see this sector as an avenue for the creation of wealth, empowerment and revenue generation for the government.
“Prospective investors are therefore encouraged to engage current investors and other stakeholders in the industry to speak on business opportunities and process of exploiting them, which will in turn create jobs for the teeming populace.
Fayemi disclosed that more than six million Nigerians are presently participating in the informal mining sector of the country, saying that “people just go with their hoes and shovels to dig out whatever minerals they believe is available on their land. These set of people constitute about 80 per cent of mining activities carried out illegally in the country – without licenses to partake in mining activities,” he added.
He therefore urged the different state government of the federation to begin to create programmes that would lead to the harnessing of solid minerals deposits in their domain to boost their revenue drive.
