Nigeria EITI publishes revenues from mining sector

NEITI has published the first EITI audit in the solid mineral sector covering fiscal years 2007 to 2010.

Nigeria has sizeable amounts of gold, aluminum, lead, and copper, but the sector is largely informal and is characterized by artisan miners, medium scale operators and illegal miners.  Therefore most of the government income arises from the quarry, cement and construction sector.

The solid minerals audits reveal that the Government of Nigeria has collected an average of almost US $100 million per year. This compares to almost US $60 billlion received from the oil and gas sector in 2008 (the last report). Corporate tax paid by mostly quarry and construction companies accounted for 95% of collected revenues with royalties representing a further 4%.

Mirroring the findings of NEITI audits in the oil and gas sector over the past ten years, this mining audit identified significant weaknesses in the management of the sector. These included inadequate record-keeping of titles and tax payer’s registration, lack of production data, obsolete price references in tax calculations, and the absence of a suitable mining tax regime. These flaws, the report asserts, imply that the Federal Government is losing revenues. The report contains a wealth of recommendations for the improvements in the way the sector is taxed and revenues are collected.

The 2007 NEITI Act mandates NEITI to report on the mining sector. The EITI Board echoed this when declaring Nigeria as an EIIT Compliant country in March 2011.

For further information about EITI in Nigeria, visit the Nigeria country page.