The Director-General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), Mr Obadiah Nkom, says Public Private Partnership (PPP) will boost huge investment in the mining sector.
Nkom made this known in a statement issued by Mrs Sade Fatoke, Head, Press Unit of MCO on Monday in Abuja.
The D-G, who received a delegation from Optiva Resources Ltd., a UK- based Investment organisation and its Investment Advisers, NPL Advisors said investing in the Nigeria mining sector “is a huge opportunity”.
He listed the available mineral titles, as Exploration Licence, Quarry Lease, Small Scale mining Lease, Water Use Permit and Mining Lease, adding that they were particularly opened to foreign investors.
He also assured of more conducive environment for mining investors, adding that the principles adopted by the agency had made application process more transparent.
“MCO is now online and the best time to invest in Nigeria mineral sector is now,” he said.
He said that the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank upgraded the agency’s system to meet the global standard.
He said that electronic Mining Cadastre (eMC+) application-based system, a ready-made platform had been provided for investors all over the world to come on board.
“We upgraded from regular polygon to our current online system; we are talking about real time administration and these are the series of upgrades that can align with best international practice.
”With the new system, you can apply for mineral title from anywhere in the world; currently, we are crossing and dotting wherever is necessary for us to have a sustainable system.”
According to him, offices have been opened in the six geo political zones and they are equally receiving applications from different zones and states.
Earlier, the Director, Investment Promotion and Mineral Trade (IPMT), Mr Yunusa Mohammed, said that the organisation’s visit was in line with the ministry’s participation in the London Mines and Money Conference in December, 2021.
The Chief Executive Officer, Optiva Securities Ltd., Mr Christian Dennis, who led the team said the company had gone to different countries across Africa.
He said that the visit to Nigeria was on fact-finding mission, as their key interest was to explore investment opportunities in precious metals and battery metals.
