The Federal Government through the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has announced a cumulative loan of N3.2 billion for artisanal miners across the country.
Announcing the development, the Minister of Mines and Steel Mr Olamilekun Adegbite noted that miners who form a cooperative society will be able to access up to N100 million as loan from the pool of N3.2 billion.
According to the minister, the loans will be given at low-interest rates to boost the diversification of Nigeria’s mining industry. Noting that the first step towards accessing the loan is for miners to form a cooperative society.
He noted that once the miners come together to form a cooperative, the ministry of mines will give them the appropriate equipment and licensing.
“Once the miners are registered, they would benefit from all the government incentives like training and free tools,” he said.
The minister added that alternatively, artisanal miners can join a cooperative society to access the loan at just five percent interest with the opportunity to make repayment within a period of 20 years.
Adegbite included that the fund, a sum of N3.2 billion has been deposited with the Bank of Industry (BOI) to essentially make the process a swift one.
He further noted that the ministry has already registered more than a thousand cooperatives. A situation which has brought revenue to the government in terms of royalty.
” I was told we have more than a thousand cooperatives that have registered with us. Some of them have successfully transitioned from artisanal miners to small-scale miners”.
“There are still many of them out there but we are winning because we are winning them over with incentives. So, because they are working, they are paying revenue to the government by paying their royalty, so it is a win-win situation,” he said.
Investors King understands that illegal mining is prevalent in Nigeria, especially in rich deposit areas of Zamfara and Osun State.
This has significantly deprived the government a sizable amount of revenue while igniting insecurity around the host communities.