The acting Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, Mr Monday Osasah, said the mining and quarrying sector has grown by 14.85 per cent from 10.7 per cent in Q4 2017.

Osasah was speaking at the 2018 National Summit on mining with the theme “Mining in Nigeria, Issues, Challenges and the way forward.”

“According to the 2018 first quarter GDP report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the growth in the mining and quarrying sector ( by 14.85 per cent from 10.7 per cent in Q4 2017) is clear indication of better days for the mining industry which some say is experiencing sustained improvement in its contribution to the national economy, “ he said.

He said though government has rolled out some financial scheme like the Bank of Industry (BOI) collaboration with the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development where they have a pool of 5 billion naira fund , artisanal and small scale miners are finding it difficult to access the fund because conditions attached to it are so stringent.

The Group Head, Solid Minerals, at the Bank of Industry, Olayinka Mubarak said qualified artisanal miners would be allowed to access between N100,000 and N10 million while small scale miners would be allowed to get 10 million naira and 100 million naira. She however said only nine small scale miners have been able to access the funds and no artisanal miner has gotten the money yet.

The President, Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji Sani Shehu said the mother of all challenges for miners is funding, hence appealed to the government to make conditions for accessing the BOI loans more flexible.