Solid Minerals Earnings Now N69.47bn – NEITI
Nigeria earned N69.47bn from the solid minerals sector in 2018, the country’s highest earnings from the industry in 12 years, an audit report released on Sunday by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative stated.
According to the report, the figure showed an increase of N16.71bn, representing 31.67 per cent over the 2017 revenue of N52.76bn.
The N69.47bn earnings also accounted for 16.69 per cent of the total revenue of N416.3bn that accrued to the sector from 2007 to 2018.
The audit report reconciled companies’ payments and government’s receipts from the sector in 2018, as well as tracked production volumes and trends of revenues from the sector to the federation account from 2007 to 2018.
A breakdown of the receipts showed that taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service accounted for N65.69bn, representing 94.56 per cent of the total.
Fees and royalties paid to the Mines Inspectorate Department and Mining Cadastre Office accounted for N2.21bn (3.18 per cent) and N1.57bn (2.26 per cent) respectively.
The report stated, “Nigeria has published eight cycles of solid minerals audit reports since it signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
“The sector has contributed N416.32bn in revenues to the federation in 12 years. Over a half of this figure or N279bn was earned between 2015 and 2018.”
NEITI stated that the figures showed that there had been a remarkable increase in revenues accruing to the federation from the solid minerals sector over the years.
The report further highlighted that the sector had over the years witnessed fluctuations in revenue earnings.
It stated that in 2015, N64.46bn accrued to the federation, while in 2016, the earnings dropped to N43.22bn.
Recall that 2016 was also the year that the Nigerian economy slid into recession.
The report disclosed that the main sources of revenue flows from solid minerals remained various categories of taxes, royalty, permits, annual services and sub-national payments.
On production, it stated that 46.68 million metric tonnes of minerals valued at N47.87bn were produced in Nigeria during the period, adding that the production data was based on minerals either used or sold during the year.
A breakdown of the production volumes showed that limestone and granite accounted for about 80 per cent of the total minerals produced, as limestone alone contributed 54.85 per cent, while granite accounted for 23.88 per cent of minerals mined.
