ACEP mulls data gathering as panacea to generating revenue from mining

Accurate data gathering has been identified as the solution to improve revenue generation for the country from her different mineral resources.

This was part of the communique issued at the end of a one-day stakeholders forum on internalizing regional frameworks in Nigeria’s mineral sector policy put together by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, ACEP, in Abuja.

The forum, which was organised to discuss the problems with contracting, licensing and challenges faced by host communities due to mining activities, is expected to develop a framework for possible policy review through engagement with the Federal Government.

Policy lead of ACEP, Mr. Theo Adoko, in his presentation, said knowing the geological data of your minerals makes it easier to negotiate for more benefits with miners.

“If you don’t know this information, the foreign companies would take advantage of your country to ask for compensation, claiming to have faced risks in the event of mining,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to improve the geological data of the country’s mining sector to boost revenue generation geological data to get the mining sector optimized for revenue generation, because it gives accurate information of the nature and quality of mineral resources in the country.

“So, it is very important to have a regulatory framework that would discourage artisanal miners from acting arbitrary, that is why government must bridge some of these gaps to achieve its objective in the mining sector.

“It is imperative to have a signed community development agreement with any mining company, this would ensure that the needs of the host communities are captured and met in the contract, also the CSO, should engage more in advocacy until the citizens demands are met.”

Executive Director ACEP, Mr Benjamin Boakye called for improved security, improve on monitoring of production and be able to identify how much gold for e.g., is produced from any location in the country for us to be able to track any export of these minerals.

Boakye said: “Smuggling minerals to other countries are a major problem that we have seen across the region that we are not able to harmonize processes among ECOWAS members. So, you have a product been mined in a country and is exported through illegal means to another country.

“If we don’t do that then the states lose the revenue whiles the environmental degradation and impact keep happening so it necessary that we are able to track down on those smuggling, provide incentive for whistle blowers, people who can help identify the illegal routes that these minerals exporters use for us to be able to ensure that the extraction of our resources contribute to economic development of the country,” he added.

A member of Ebonyi State community miners Association, Princess Silvia Equitos, on her part said mining host community are facing terrible challenges in south east especially adding that mining companies don’t implement the Community Development Agreement (CDA). “We will have a CDA, that should last for five years, they don’t implement it, they don’t do anything, they don’t develop the village and they rarely employ the youths,” she said.