The Federal Government has cancelled no fewer than 1,263 mineral licenses over failure of operators to pay their statutory annual service fees.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, confirmed the revocation in a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Segun Tomori, in Abuja.
According to the ministry, the affected titles include 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases. These licenses will now be deleted from the Electronic Mining Cadastral System portal of the Mining Cadastral Office.
Alake explained that the action followed recommendations from the MCO, stressing that the move was necessary to sanitise the sector and open opportunities for serious investors.
“The era of collecting licenses and keeping them in drawers while genuine businessmen are denied access to sites is over,” the minister declared.
“The annual service fee is the minimum evidence that you are interested in mining. You don’t have to wait for us to revoke the license; the law allows you to return it if you change your mind.”
He added that although the licenses had been revoked, companies would still be held accountable for the debts owed.
“Revocation does not mean that the government has waived the outstanding fees. The list of defaulters will be forwarded to the EFCC to ensure compliance or prosecution,” Alake warned.
Director-General of the MCO, Simon Nkom, revealed that the exercise began after the agency published a gazette on June 19, 2025, notifying 1,957 defaulters. He noted that while some reconciled their payments, 1,263 titles remained non-compliant.
“This clean-up targets expired, speculative, and inactive titles. It is a necessary step to give room for genuine investors and strengthen confidence in the sector,” Nkom said.
With this latest action, the total number of mineral titles revoked under the Tinubu administration has risen to 3,794, including previous cases of dormancy and non-payment.
Officials say the revocation will open up new areas for applications, with the expectation that serious investors will take advantage of the available opportunities.
