At the meeting, the President directed the authorities of PAGMI to provide a six-month progress report on the Solid Minerals Development Fund, designed to capture accruals from investments.
Addressing the Steering Committee and Management Team of PAGMI, Buhari noted that the directive is to further ensure probity and best practice in the mining sector.
He tasked the team to scale up operations in the mining sector by ensuring that investments go beyond artisanal and small-scale levels.
“The PAGMI Management Team should now develop innovative ways to move PAGMI to the next level to ensure the Nigerian mining story goes beyond artisanal and small-scale mining.
“I support the Steering Committee’s target of aggregating 3-5 tons of gold over the next 12 months, as this will deliver tremendous fiscal and economic benefits to the nation.
“The Solid Minerals Development Fund should work with all relevant Government agencies to identify the support and funding needed to deliver on this aggregation target.
“Now that you have successfully delivered a pilot scheme in Kebbi State, it is time to roll out and expand sustainably across other Sates. The Government is committed to providing all the necessary support required,” he said.
President Buhari also urged PAGMI to ensure that the Solid Minerals Development Fund fast-tracks delivery of other directives to support the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative.
The president had in 2020, promised that the initiative launched to transform the nation’s gold industry into a major player in the global market, will generate about 250,000 jobs and over 500 million dollars annually in royalties and taxes to the Federal Government.
However, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uche Ogar, who led the delegation today, disclosed that between 2012 and 2018, five billion dollars in gold was illegally smuggled out of Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary /Chief Executive Officer of the Solid Mineral Development Fund, Hajiya Fatima Umaru Shinkafi during her briefing, requested the President to, among others, increase the capitalisation of the fund in order to extend to other states requesting its intervention which will enable the committee meet up with its 5-ton target; order an intervention by the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to minimise losses by artisanal miners as a result of foreign exchange differentials; declare a ban on artisanal export of gold for at least one year to give PAGMI a chance to checkmate the smuggling activities and give a temporary waiver on royalties presently set at about three per cent.
Shinkafi called for support of the funding of targeted explorations to catalyse private sector investment and transform PAGMI into a large-scale operator in order to sustain the initiative.
She added that the Responsible Mining Framework, presented by the Steering Committee meets international standard, and was produced in conjunction with other stakeholders like NEITI, EFCC and the Nigerian Customs Service.
According to her, it is believed that the document will eliminate criminality, lead poisoning, child labour, sabotage in the economy and terrorism financing.
The Committee had in 2020 presented the first-ever artisanal gold mined and sourced within Nigeria to the President. Channels Television