Mining and quarrying companies licensed by the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office since last year are expected to conclude the Community Development Agreements with host communities on or before December 31, this year.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, issued the deadline following the review of the performance of companies on the Community Development Agreement in the first six months of this year based on the report of the Mines Environmental Compliance (MEC) department of the Ministry.
According to the report, although there were 74 new mineral titles in the first six months of the year, only 24 community development agreements were signed.
A statement by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Segun Tomori, on Thursday, recalled that in 2023, the MCO issued 960 Small Scale Mineral Licences, 391 Quarry licences, and 37 mining leases, totaling 1,388 titles that should proceed to sign CDAs before starting extraction. Last year, MCO issued 728 Small Scale Mining Licences, 198 Quarry and 28 mining leases, totaling 954 mineral titles whose owners were obliged by law to engage communities and sign CDAs before embarking on mineral operations.
Dr. Alake highlighted the wide gap between the thousands of mineral titles issued and the only 342 CDAs signed so far, underscoring the urgent need for compliance.
“We have penalized companies that owed annual service fees by revoking their titles.
Refusal to protect the Nigerian people by agreeing with them on what the communities will gain from the mineral exploitation of their land is criminal expropriation, and an unpardonable injustice.
“This administration is not going to treat any company found guilty after this deadline with kid gloves. Their licences will not only be revoked, they will be asked to pay reparations for the minerals carted away,” he said.
He advised community leaders and traditional rulers not to undermine the outcome of CDA negotiations by demanding personal gifts from companies when their communities deserve much more, or recommending contractors who do shoddy projects and pocket what the communities should benefit.
