The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has claimed that not more than ten miners have benefited from the N5bn Bank of Industry loan set aside for Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners since August 2017.
The claim was made on Tuesday by Seun Olatunji, Chairman Mining Group of the LCCI on Channels TV on the backdrop of the implication of the delay almost four years later.
Nigeria’s 2016 mining roadmap projected that the contribution of solid minerals to Gross Domestic Product will grow by three per cent by 2025.
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But amidst efforts to diversify the economy, miners are faced with the huge setback of funding.
Only recently, the Federal Government said Nigeria lost N17.12bn royalties from the solid mineral exports in the country over lack of standardised guidelines.
But Seun said, “Raising funds is critical to any successful business but mining in Nigeria is peculiar, because there is insufficient geological data and it is the geological data that serves as collateral in any mining jurisdiction.
“If you remember some years back in 2017, the Bank of Industry in collaboration with the ministry created a N5bn fund. But I will shock you to say less than 10 people or less than 10 mining companies have accessed these funds. We are in 2021, we cannot be going backwards.”
He blamed the delay since 2017 on bottle necks including demanding for collateral from a small-scale miners and legal mortgage.
Seun said it is worrisome to demand for a legal mortgage when the “world is moving to cash base or cash collateral.
The Chairman advocated the need for the government to introduce a pilot programme for miners.
He said, “The CBN doesn’t have a specific policy tailored for Nigerian mining sector. It is always lumped together with either the manufacturing. We should do something like the Anchor Borrowers Programme designed for the sector.”
Seun explained that Nigerian can conveniently rely on solid minerals as the world is moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
“As a matter of fact, the prices of metals have been stable over the last ten years. If you look at during the pandemic, where everyone was shouting up, businesses were going under, gold miners all over the world were smiling to the bank, because gold picked and gold is still bullish right now,” said Seun.
Gold is currently selling at $1,904.30 per ounce, while silver per ounce is $28.33.
Seun explained that the country has deposits of lithium which he believes is a strategic mineral that is “very essential for the electric vehicle market.”