The Federal Government has announced the revocation of an additional 924 mineral licences, including 528 exploration licences, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licences, and 273 small-scale mining licences. The decision, revealed by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, comes as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to address issues of licence racketeering and ensure efficient resource utilization.

This latest revocation follows a similar action taken by the ministry in November 2023, where 1,663 mineral licences were revoked in the first batch of such measures under the current administration. Speaking during the briefing, Minister Alake expressed concern over the rampant abuse of mineral licensing processes and the prevalence of dormant licences, emphasizing the ministry’s commitment to tackling these challenges head-on.

Furthermore, Minister Alake announced the implementation of a stringent policy to facilitate the reinstatement of revoked licences for interested parties. Under the new policy, individuals or companies seeking to reinstate their licences must make restitution to the Federal Government through the payment of fines. The fines are fixed at N10 million for large-scale companies, N7.5 million for small-scale mining licences, and N5 million for exploration licences, respectively.

Interested parties have been given a 30-day window to approach the ministry through the mining cadastral office to initiate the process of licence reinstatement. Failure to comply within the stipulated timeframe will result in the permanent loss of the licences.