The federal government increased royalties by 100% on Thursday. Additionally, the government increased the cost of mining licenses among other things.
The details were provided by Solid Minerals Development Minister Dele Alake during an Abuja media briefing.
Alake said,
According to the minister in a BusinessDay report, the pricing regime consists of 268 elements. But he simply brought attention to the significant increases.
He said,
The Minister went on to say that the following penalties would apply to late mineral title renewals: N600,000 for the reconnaissance permit, N1,500,000 for the exploration license, N3,000,000 for the mining lease, and N1,500,000 for the quarry lease.
He added that the royalty rate will now cost 100% higher per standard weight of minerals. For example, a tonne of baryte has a market value of N42,000 and a royalty of N2,100; a tonne of coal has a market value of N3,000; a tonne of gold has a royalty of N36,436; a tonne of lead/zinc concentrate has a market value of N480,000 and a royalty of N14,400.
With a current market value of N600,000 per tonne, lithium ore (lepidolite) is subject to a royalty of N18,000 per tonne; lithium (kunzite) is subject to a royalty of N90,000 per tonne; and lithium ore (spodumene), with a current market value of N316,667 per tonne, is subject to a royalty of N9,500 per tonne.
Currently, it costs N20 million to obtain a license to produce explosives, N10 million to alter explosives, and N500,000 to sell explosives for mining.
He added that a permit to operate a mineral processor costs N100,000, and investors who are willing to spend N5 million for a licence to refine gold will receive one. Nigeria’s geological map currently costs N300,000, while the country’s map of mineral resources will cost N500,000.
TimesNow.com.ng reported that to lessen the tax burden on enterprises, the federal government has approved exempting manufacturers, farmers, and small businesses from paying withholding tax.
To lessen the tax burden on enterprises, the federal government has approved exempting manufacturers, farmers, and small businesses from paying withholding tax.
Important modifications to the previous tax system were also implemented, including lower rates for companies with narrow profit margins and steps to prevent tax cheating.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
