By OGWUCHE SUNDAY, Abuja
Potential investors had their interest in the Nigerian mining sector tickled as the Director-General, DG, of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), Engr Obadiah Simon Nkom, presented details of the reforms in the country’s mineral title administration and licensing system which culminated in the recently launched electronic Mining Cadastre, eMC+, to a global audience of investors and policy makers at this year's Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, South Africa.
In his presentation at the world forum, titled, “Online Mineral Title Administration,” Engr Nkom who stressed the commitment of the federal government to creating an investment friendly environment for mining investors, said it was in pursuit of that the President Buhari government launched the eMC+ platform of the MCO on November 1, 2022.
The Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (NMCO) is responsible for the administration and management of mineral licenses in Nigeria. The new digital technology introduced is primarily targeted at boosting transparency and engendering timely and unencumbered access to Nigerians mining information by willing investors home and abroad.
Nkom explained that the eMC+ is “an electronic management system which assists the administration of mineral titles in a responsible, efficient and transparent manner, throughout the life cycle of the titles".
Speaking further, he said: “Today, the Mining Cadastre Office has fully implemented the new electronic Mining Cadastre system, and has conducted stakeholder sensitisation workshops for the sustainable adoption of the new system to further enhance economic growth and ease of doing business in the Nigerian mining sector.”
Discussing the benefits of the newly deployed online mining cadastre system, Nkom who is a Fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, said the technical benefits include improved scalability and reduction in total cost of operation, adding that it generates real time cadastral updates for the general public, even as there is total absence of proprietary technical components.
He said the MCO benefits from the eMC+ in a number of ways.
“By virtue of the eMC+, the MCO is able to integrate the six zonal offices while also increasing transparency, efficiency and service delivery,” he said, adding that the system also enhances improved information sharing with other government bodies.
“The eMC+ enhances sharing of information with the web portals of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD), the Mines Inspectorate Department (MID), the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and also the portal of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI),” he said.
Nkom, who served as President of the Nigeria Mining and Geoscience Society (NMGS), said in addition to guaranting reduction in the duration of processing applications, the eMC+ aids efficiency in the administration of mineral titles through automated notifications and alerts it gives to MCO officers.
He encouraged potential investors at the forum to take advantage of the ease of doing business availed them by the eMC+ as they can apply anywhere for mineral titles by visiting the office's portal onlaptop, desktops, mobile phones.
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