Obadiah Nkon, the director general of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), said that from 2019 to May 2023, the office raised income generation to around N18 billion.
In an interview with NAN on Friday in Abuja, Nkon made this disclosure.
He said that N4.3 billion of the total was earned in 2021 alone, making it the year with the highest collection total since the MCO was established.
According to him, the MCO has recorded tremendous achievements in the last four years, from 2019 to date.
“The key achievements include upgrading the SIGTIM software to the web-based online mineral title administration and management, the electronic mining cadastre system.
“The electronic mining cadastre system (eMC+) was unveiled to stakeholders on Nov. 1, 2022, to improve service delivery.
“The eMC+ will also ensure transparency and accessibility of information,” he said.
Nkon said adopting digitalization was vital in reducing operational costs and impediments to trade and access to the market for government and private business operators.
He said the office had participated in numerous local and international conferences, such as London Mines and Money, Australia Down Under, and Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), to woo prospective investors.
“Other conferences include participating in African Mining Indaba, Capetown, South Africa.
“Participation in the conferences has served as a dependable platform for attracting foreign investment to the mining sector.
“The office has also increased in mineral title application submission by investors in the mineral sector.”
He added that the MCO had completed the e-recording and archiving of mineral title documents ready for integration into the eMC+ online system.
According to Nkon, the office had also recorded achievements in the acquisition, geo-referencing and geocoding of topographic maps of Nigeria for integration into the mining cadastre digital database.
He said the office had produced a thematic mapping of mineral titles restricted in protected areas in Nigeria’s mining cadastre digital database.
“The MCO is working more closely with other departments and agencies of the Mines and Steel Development Ministry for synergy and cooperation in the sector.
“We have established offices in six geo-political zones of the country with the creation of the Press and Research, Development and Sustainability units at the headquarters.
“This is to effectively enhance the sector for efficiency and transparency of the office activities across the country,” he said.
