After The Launching of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Initiative [PAGMDI], President Muhammadu Buhari has siad the gold mining operations in the country will generate no fewer than 250,000 jobs and over $500m annually in royalties and taxes to the Federal Government.
The Presidential Artinasal Gold Mining Initiative (PAGMI) which is being headed by Prof. Gambari, was launched virtually at the State House, Abuja with Several other Nigerians and top government functionaries also in attendance.
The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to establish gold refineries in Nigeria as he stated that the initiative would support efforts at creation of jobs for Nigerians, diversifying the revenue base, and improving foreign exchange reserves as the gold would be mined Locally.
Speaking on the combat against illegal mining activities, the President expressed concern that Nigeria lost close to $3b from 2012 – 2018 due to illegal smuggling of gold.
President Buhari In a statement by his spokeperson, Femi Adesina, Buhari said;
‘‘With the implementation of the PAGDMI scheme which will result in the set-up of accredited gold buying centres across key mining areas, artisanal miners and SMEs engaged in mining will be able to capture the value of their work.
‘‘These operations will help in diversifying our revenue base. The sale of gold by artisanal miners and SMEs at accredited centers will help the government in realizing royalties and taxes from the sale of these assets.
‘‘These developments will also help in improving our foreign reserves by enabling the Central Bank of Nigeria to increase the amount of gold in its reserves.
‘‘These gold assets which will be purchased in Naira, will not only help to bolster our international reserves, it will also provide a hedge against inflation and other economic volatilities associated with foreign currencies that are held in our reserves,’’
In the statement President Buhari noted that in addition to the potential revenue gains that will occur from mining operations, efforts are being made to enable the setting up of gold refineries in Nigeria.
The president also expressed optimism that the initiative would lead to creation of additional job opportunities across the gold value chain and also help the nation capture the additional value created from the gold refining process.
President Buhari aslo assured the initiative that his Government would pay close attention to safety and environmental measures to protect its workers and the environment.
In the statement, The President expressed delight as PAGMI, was launched in 2019, as it was well timed, considering the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and indeed on the Nigerian economy.
He said the impact of COVID-19 and the containment measures designed to slow the spread of the virus, had led to a slowdown in global growth, which is projected to decline into negative territory for the first time since the Great Depression.
‘‘It has also led to a 40 percent drop in crude oil prices. In Nigeria, the drop in crude oil prices has had a significant impact on government revenue, as well as on our foreign exchange earnings.
‘‘In responding to this challenge, it is therefore paramount that we strengthen our efforts at implementing policies and programs that will enable greater diversification of the Nigerian economy.
‘‘Enabling investment in the Solid Mineral sector, is a key part of the government’s economic diversification program.
‘‘Given our current estimated gold reserves of over 200m ounces, most of which have not been exploited, developing sustainable programmes that will catalyse increased investment in the extraction and refining of gold sourced from mines in Nigeria, is indeed vital,’’ he said.
Speaking on the benefits of the initiative [PAGMDI], the President explained that it will support job creation efforts particularly for artisanal miners, by providing them with a guaranteed offtake by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He said efforts are being made to support artisanal miners in improving the standard of the gold that will be sold to the apex bank, in order to ensure that they meet international benchmarks.
He also said the initiative will enable the deployment of financing schemes that will help miners improve on the quality of their mining operations.
‘‘The gold buying program by the Central Bank will ensure that artisanal miners are no longer subjected to the volatility in gold prices that occurs in the absence of credible off-takers, which has often led to a significant loss in the value of gold sold by miners, as well as in encouraging illegal smuggling,’’ he said.
(C) Control TV 2020.
