Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office - Annual Activities Report 2023

1.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15

2.0 Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) Mandate………………………………………………………………………………...17

3.0 Mile Stone Achievements of the MCO in 2023………………………………...……………………………….…….18

4.0 Concession Department……………………………………………………………………………………………………......20

5.0 Registry Department………………………………………………………….……………………………………….…...…...29

6.0 Monitoring and Coordination Department……………………………………………………………………..……...38

6.1.0 South-East Zonal Office……………………………………………………………………………………..……… 40

6.2.0 South-South Zonal Office…………………………………………………………………………………..……… 44

6.3.0 South-West Zonal Office…………………………………………………………………………………………… 46

6.4.0 North-East Zonal Office………………………………………………………….……………………….……… 51

6.5.0 North-Central Zonal Office……………………………………………………………………………………… 54

6.6.0 North-West Zonal Office………………………………………………….……………………………………… 57

7.0 Human Resource Finance and Accounts………………………………….………………………………………….... 61

8.0 Internal Audit Unit………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….66

9.0 Procurement Unit…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....…...67

10.0 Legal Services Unit………………………………………………………………………………………………………….........70 4 <!-- page break -->

11.0 Press Unit……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……….74

12.0 Information Communication & Technology (ICT) Unit……………………………………………..…………..…76

13.0 Research, Development and Sustainability Unit……………………………………………………………………..80

14.0 Protocol Unit……………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………..83

15.0 Challenges of the Office…………………………………………………………………………………………….……..…….85

16.0 Recommendation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……......86

17.0 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………..87 Photo Gallery of MCO Year 2023 Activities …………………………………………………………………………………..90 5 <!-- page break --> List of Tables Table 1: eMC+ Mineral Title and modification application submission Performance against projection……….13 Table 2: Transactions from January to December 2023…………………………………………………………….………………....21 Table 3: Applications for Permits 2023………………………………………………………………………………….………………….….22 Table 4: Applications Received 2023…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...22 Table 5: Approved Grants January to December 2023………………………………………………………………………………...24 Table 6: Applications Granted January to December 2023…………………………………………………….……..………….….24 Table 7: Summary of Signed Licenses January to December 2023……………………………………………….……………….25 Table 8: Summary of Issued Mineral Titles January to December 2023…………………………………….……..……….…26 Table 9: Valid Mineral Titles as at December 2023………………………………………………………………………...…………...27 Table 10: Summary of Modification Received in 2023……………………………………………………………………..……………29 Table 11: Summary of Renewal Applications Received and Approved in 2023…………………………,………..…….…..30 Table 12: Renewal Applications Received January to December 2023………………………………………,…………..……..31 Table 13: Monthly Renewal Applications Approved January to December 2023……………………………...….….……32 Table 14: Transfer Applications Received, Granted, Pending and Refused in 2023……………………..………..……..33 Table 15: Approved Revocations for 2023………………………………………………………………………………….….…..………..34 Table 16: Notice of Intention to revoke dormant Titles for 2023………………………………………………….…………..….34 Table 17: List of complaints handled by South East Zonal Office………………………………………………….……………...42 Table 18: List of complaints handled by South West Zonal Office………………. …………………………………….….…….47 Table 19: Number of Mineral Titles Received in North Central zone in 2023……………..………………….…………....54 Table 20: Number of letters received for conflict/resolution in the North Central ……………………………….…….55 Table 21: List of North West Zonal Officers ………………………………………………………………………….…………….………57 Table 22: Letters received and treated by, North West Zonal Office, 2023………………………………………..………..59 Table 23: Budget performance…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...64 6 <!-- page break --> Table 24: Revenue generation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……....64 Table: 25 capital expenditure……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..65 Table 26: Showing works………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..…..68 Table 27: Goods and Supplies……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..68 Table 28: Consultancy services……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………...68 Table 29: List of Legal Cases………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..70 Table 30: Some international mining events the Office attended in 2023……………………………………………….……83 7 <!-- page break --> List of Figures Figure 1: MCO Organizational Structure…………………………………………………………………………………………..…… 16 Figure 2: Bar chart showing transactions from January to December 2023…………………………………………… 21 Figure 3: Bar chart showing mineral Titles received on monthly bases for 2023…………………………………….23 Figure 4: chart showing number of mineral titles received by title type ………………………………………………..23 Figure 5: Chart showing number of grants issued per month in 2023…………………………………………………….25 Figure 6: Chart showing licenses signed in 2023…………………………………………………………………………………….26 Figure 7: chart showing number of issued titles in 2023………………………………………………………………………..27 Figure 8: chart showing number of Valid mineral titles in 2023……………………………………………………………..27 Figure 9: chart showing number of different types of applications for modifications in 2023………………..30 Figure 10: Chart showing Renewal Applications received and approved in 2023…………………………………..31 Figure 11: Chart showing renewal applications received on a monthly basis……………………………..………….32 Figure 12: Chart showing renewal applications approved on a monthly basis……………………………………….33 Figure 13: chart showing Transfer Applications received and approved in 2023……………………………………33 Figure 14: Chart showing approved revocations for 2023……………………………………………………………………..34 8 <!-- page break --> EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the years, the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) has achieved tremendous technological advancements. The Office migrated from the polygonal geometry to cadastre block system; implementation of a functional manual cadastre. Then to the development and implementation of a computerized cadastre; implementation of Version 1 of SIGTIM Title management system. Then adaptation of the Mining Cadastre to the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 (NMMA), via implementation of Version 2 of SIGTIM. Presently, the Office has successfully implemented a computerized Online Mineral Title administration system; the electronic Mining Cadastre system – eMC+ which is a web-based, real time, online mineral title administration and management system, launched on 1st November, 2022. The Office has sustained the use of the eMC+, since its installation in December, 2021 hence, by the end of December, 2023, the Office witnessed an exponential increase in both new mineral title and modification application submission, totaling 7,909 (7,245 new mineral title and 664 modification applications); this in turn, produced a ripple effect, as reflected in the revenue generated in year 2023; to the tune of N6.071billion, the highest so far. The achievements of the Office and implementation of eMC+, has earned the Office prestigious awards such as; the Winner 2022 NIRA.ng award, 2023 NIRA.ng Presidential award, Nigeria GovTech Public Service Award: Best Federal MDA in “Citizen-Centric Online Service” awarded by Bureau of Public Service Reforms – The 9 <!-- page break --> Presidency, 2023 all these brings the Office to the forefront of Federal Government Organizations that have achieved digital innovation. It is worthy, to note that in spite of all the achievements, the use of the new system, was not devoid of challenges; however, the much anticipated upcoming phase II maintenance period, is set to address all pending challenges of the eMC+. The year under review witnessed the transition of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to the present Government lead by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), with the Eight (8) point, Renewed Hope agenda targeted at addressing Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu restructured the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) into two (2) Ministries namely Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD) and Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD). Mr. Henry Dele Alake was appointed the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development and assumed Office on the 21st August, 2023. On that day, he was welcomed to the Office by the Top Management staff of the Ministry along with some Director-Generals of the Agencies under the Ministry. On the 3rd of September, 2023, the Honourable Minister swung into swift action with a press release on a seven (7) point agenda for the transformation of the Ministry. This was in order to boost the Ministry’s international competitiveness and domestic prosperity. Highlight of the press release included: generation of big data on specific seven priority minerals and their deposits; the creation of Mines Surveillance Task Force and Mines Police; comprehensive review of all mining licenses amongst others. 10 <!-- page break --> In compliance to the comprehensive review of all mining licenses, the Honourable Minister approved the revocation of a total of 1,619 Mineral Titles, due to non-compliance with their obligations as spelt out in the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act, 2007 (NMMA). The Honourable Minister paid a working visit to the MCO on the 21st November, 2023. During the visit, the Director-General (DG) made a presentation of the challenges the Office was grappling with and also practically showcased eMC+ to the Honourable Minister. Highlight of the challenges included: a. Delay in processing of Mineral Title Applications due to absence of tools to excise partial overlap, b. Missing Titles in the database – some of such cases occurred during the process of migrating the database from SIGTIM to eMC+, other cases are as a result of lack of system validation; Titles that where successfully migrated to eMC+ need system validation by Mineral Title Holders, once this validation is not done, the system rejects and removes the License by default. c. Complexity in the issuance of consent d. Title holders unable to file multiple Small Scale Mining Lease’s (SSML) on their Exploration License’s (EL). e. Inability to relate two different points at the same time especially during dispute resolution. The DG further explained to the Minister, that the Office was liaising with MinDiver and the developers of the software – eMC+, to commence the phase II maintenance period which will address all of the above challenges to enable the effective and efficient operationalization of the eMC+. 11 <!-- page break --> The Honourable Minister applauded the achievements of the MCO, however, as the gateway to the mining sector, he admonished the Director- General, to ensure that all the challenges were surmounted in order to restore investor confidence in the sector. In the year under review, as the gateway to the Mining sector, the Office ensured its participation at both Local and International Mining Conferences, notable amongst which include: Future Mineral Summit – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Investing in African Mining Indaba, Cape Town, South Africa, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Africa Down Under Conference Perth, Australia, Tianjing Mining Conference, China just to mention a few. At these conferences, mining sector stakeholders are informed and educated about the current developments in the Nigerian Mining sector and encouraged to make Nigeria their next mining destination due to the modalities put in place for the ease of doing business in the Nigerian Mining sector . 12 <!-- page break --> FIRST QUARTER ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE The year began with the re-appointment of Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom as Director General of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office for a second and final term of four (4) years with effect from 12th January, 2023. He was first appointed on 12th January, 2019 for an initial period of four (4) years. Attending both local and international mining conferences, serves as a platform, through which the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD), enlighten mining sector stakeholders on the progress the Ministry has made in the Nigerian mining sector, emphasizing the fact that Nigeria is indeed a mining destination that is worth venturing to, as such, the Office is part of the Team that accompanies the Honourable Minister MSMD, to these conferences. In the first quarter of the year under review, International conferences the Office participated at included: HM-MMSD, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite with his Team; DG- NMCO, Engr. O. S Nkom; DG NGSA, Dr. Rasaq Garba; PC- MinDiver, Engr. Salim; HM - SSA (Technical) Mr. Olu Adedayo and other VIP Delegates at the Future Minerals Forum holding at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia held 11th – 12th January, 2023 Future Minerals Forum 2023 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 10th – 12th January 2023, with the attendance of HM MMSD, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite leading the Nigerian delegation of which the DG- MCO, Engr. O. S Nkom, was part of. 13 <!-- page break --> Investing in African Mining Indaba Cape Town, South – Africa from the 6th to 9th February with the participation of the Minister of State, MMSD, Gbemisola Saraki, DG- MCO, Engr. O. S. Nkom and Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, HE Kabiru Bala at Indaba Mining Conference and other delegates. Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) International Mining Conference Toronto, Canada, from the 5th to 8th March 2023, with attendance by HM-MMSD, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite with his Team; DG- NMCO, Engr. O. S Nkom; DG NGSA, Dr. Rasaq Garba; PC- MinDiver, Engr. Salim; HM - SSA (Technical) Mr. Olu Adedayo and other VIP Delegates The State House invited the Director – General to make a presentation on the achievements and operations of the MCO at the 63rd State House weekly press briefing, on the 19th of January, 2023. The Office also attended the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development Ministerial Retreat held at the Best Western Plus Hotel, Ibadan, Oyo State from Wednesday 25th - Friday, 27th January, 2023. At the end of the first quarter, total Mineral Title applications received was 1,673, granted 1,529 Licensed 491. While revenue generated was N788,973,000.00 14 <!-- page break --> SECOND QUARTER ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE In a bid for the management of MCO to strategize on how best the mandate of the Office can be achieved in the year, the Second quarter of the year commenced with a one-day retreat at the Bon Hotel Elvis, Wuse II Abuja; with the theme “Repositioning MCO through Attitude Transformation for Improved Productivity” organized by the Management on the 3rd of May 2023. Resource persons were drawn from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Department of State Services (DSS). The Heads of Departments and Units of the Office also made presentations and anchored breakout sessions. May 10th 2023, the Director – General received the award of the most outstanding Director – General in the Mining Sector issued by Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ)/Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). To further buttress the intention of the Retreat held by the Office, to ensure efficiency and transparency in the operations of the Office staff re-shuffling and posting was conducted on the 31st of May, 2023, whereby staff at the HQTS were posted to the Zonal Offices and Vice versa. The Director-General in company of Management staff, paid a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mary Ogbe at the Conference room of MMSD on the 8th June, 2023 and briefed her of the operations, achievements and challenges of the Office. 15 <!-- page break --> In the usual manner, the Office attended the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2021 Solid Minerals Audit Tripartite Reconciliation meeting between the independent Auditors, Companies & Government Agencies, which held in Lagos and Port Harcourt from 15th – 19th and 22nd – 26th May, 2023 respectively. As outlined in the Terms of Reference for the contract for the Automation and Upgrade of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office; the eMC+ maintenance mission week commenced from the 26th – 31st May at the MCO HQTRS conference room. The Office, represented by Engr Mustapha M Yusuf, participated at the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) Global Conference on Beneficial Ownership (BO) transparency, held on the 13th – 14th June, 2023 in Dakar Senegal. The Office also attended the 25th annual Africa Energy Forum (AEF) in Kenya on the 20th of June 2023. At the end of the second quarter, total Mineral Title applications received was 1,582, granted638; Licensed 730. While revenue generated was N3,083,426,100.00 16 <!-- page break --> THIRD QUARTER ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE The Permanent Secretary Dr. Mary Ogbe, embarked on a familiarization tour of the MCO on the 11th July, 2023 and was received by the DG (MCO) Engr. O.S Nkom. The Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule granted audience to the Director – General, MCO for a courtesy visit at the Government House, Lafia on Friday 21st July 2023. The new Minister of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development Mr. Henry Dele Alake was appointed on the 17th August, 2023. He assumed Office on 21st of August, 2023; the Director – General in company of Top management staff of the Ministry was present at the welcoming ceremony of the Honourable Minister, Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Henry Dele Alake, held at the conference room of the Ministry. In order to brief the new Minister on the functions, activities and achievements of the MCO, the Director-General in company of some management staff visited the Honourable Minister on the 29th August, 2023 to conduct the Ministerial briefing. The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mary Ogbe, was also present at the briefing. j The Hon. Minister of Solid Minerals Development Mr. Henry Dele Alake, Dr. Mary Ogbe, DG MCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom and some MCO Management staff at the MCO Ministerial Briefing held in the Minister's Office on Tuesday, 29th August, 2023. 17 <!-- page break --> The African Down Under Conference took place at Perth Australia 6th to 8th of September with the attendance of HM, MSMD, Mr. Dele Alake with DG - MCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom and other delegates. At the end of the third quarter, total Mineral Title applications received was 1,995, granted 1,136; Licensed 984. While revenue generated was N1,065,854,100.00. 18 <!-- page break --> FOURTH QUARTER ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE The 8th edition of the Annual Nigeria Mining week took place from the 16th to 18th October 2023 at the International Conference Centre Abuja, with the Office and other Agencies under the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development in attendance. The Director – General was awarded as the Distinguished GovTech Trailblazer and MCO honored as best Federal in Citizen online service, at a ceremony held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on the 13th of October 2023. DG- MCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom honoured with the Distinguished GovTech Trail Blazer Award and MCO honoured with Best Federal in Citizen-Centric Online Service Award at the Nigeria GovTech Public Service Awards organized by Bureau of Public Service Reform at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Friday, 13th October, 2023. Participation at Local (in house conferences): The Office participated in the following conferences and exhibitions: National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) conference, on Digital Nigeria with its theme: Harnessing Digital Technologies for Job Creation, Inclusive Economic Growth and Sustainability, which took place at the International Conference Centre Abuja, from the 24th to 26th October 2023. The 2nd edition of the Africa Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit held at the International Conference Centre Abuja from 31st October to 2nd November 2023. 19 <!-- page break --> Abuja Investment Summit and Exposition at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja from the 14th to 15th November 2023. The Director (M&C) represented the Office at the West African Mining Host Communities Indaba, which took place at Rock view Hotel from the 15th to 17th November 2023. The 6th edition of the NIRA award took place on the 17th on November 2023, and the Director – General was honored with the Presidential Award on Special Recognition. International Conference participation: The Director – General attended the forum for Geoscience Cooperation and Mining Investment, that held at China Mining Conference in Tianjin, China on Thursday 26th October 2023. The Mines and Money Conference, took place at the Business Design Centre London, from the 28th to 30th November 2023, with the attendance of Hon Minister, MSMD Mr. Dele Alake, Permanent Secretary, MSMD, Dr. Mary Ogbe, DG- MCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom, ES, SMDF, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi and other dignitaries. At the end of the fourth quarter, total Mineral Title applications received was 1,994, granted 892; Licensed 1,210. While revenue generated was N1,133,010,261.00 20 <!-- page break --> eMC+ PERFORMANCE SINCE UNVEILING TO MINING SECTOR STAKEHOLDERS eMC+ was unveiled to mining sector stake holders on the 1st November, 2022. Fourteen (14) months after, there has been a gradual adoption of the system by stakeholders, as shown in the table below: 1. Total monthly Mineral Title and modification application submissions = 9,495 2. Projection for Unassisted Online Mineral Title and Modification Application Submissions = 150 monthly 3. Actual Unassisted Online Mineral Title and modification application submissions = 3,706 4. Performance against projection = 1,606 5. Percentage of performance against projection = 76.47% Date/Period Total monthly Projection for Actual Performance Percentage Percentage of under review Mineral Title Unassisted Unassisted against of Unassisted and Online Online projection Performance Online Mineral Modification Mineral Title Mineral Title against Title application and and projection application Submissions Modification Modification Submissions application application Submissions Submissions November, 2022 783 150 146 -4 -0.19047619 18.65 December, 2022 729 150 213 63 3 29.22 January, 2023 556 150 129 -21 -1 23.20 February, 2023 712 150 329 179 8.523809524 46.21 March, 2023 540 150 219 69 3.285714286 41.29 April, 2023 421 150 178 28 1.333333333 42.28 May, 2023 803 150 297 147 7 37.00 June, 2023 539 150 220 70 3.333333333 40.50 July, 2023 682 150 333 183 8.714285714 48.82 August, 2023 785 150 351 201 9.571428571 44.71 September, 2023 759 150 350 200 9.523809524 46.11 October, 2023 768 150 358 208 9.904761905 46.61 November, 2023 715 150 310 160 7.619047619 43.36 December, 2023 703 150 273 123 5.857142857 38.83 Nov. 2022 - Dec. 9,495 2,100 3,706 1606 76.47619048 39.06 2023 Table:1 - eMC+ Mineral Title and modification application submission Performance against projection 21 <!-- page break --> At the end of year 2023, adoption of eMC+, by mining sector stakeholders is 39.06% and the percentage actual performance is 76.47%. The 2024 projection is actually 50% lower than the percentage actual performance of year 2023. A clear analysis, derived from the table above was done that resulted in the 2024 projection for Unassisted Online Mineral Title and modification application submission as 207 monthly submissions. 22 <!-- page break -->

1.0 INTRODUCTION The Federal Government’s mining sector reform of 2006, brought about the establishment of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) as an Agency in line with the provision of section 5(1) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (NMMA) 2007. The coming into effect of this Act in 2007 saw the transformation of the Office into an autonomous Agency with the responsibility of Administration and Management of Mineral Titles, which is considered to be the cornerstone of a secured mineral right system. The Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (referred to in this report as, “Agency”) is headed by a Director General. The Organization’s structure comprises, four (4) Departments, namely Concession, Registry, Human Resources and Finance, and Monitoring and Coordination, all headed by Directors; Seven (7) Units and Six (6) Zonal Offices with a Zonal Office established in each of the Six (6) Geo-Political Zones of Nigeria. The Seven (7) Units comprise, Information Technology (ICT), Internal Audit, Legal Services, Press, Procurement, Protocol, Research Development and Sustainability (RDS). The Office has sucessfully concluded the implementation of the Project, titled “Upgrading and Automation of the Mining Cadastre Office for Online Applications, e-Recording, Archiving and Establishment of Mining Cadastre Offices in the Six Geopolitical Zones”, a mining sector focused reform, executed by the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) Project; coordinated by the World Bank. Currently at the final maintenance phase. 23 <!-- page break --> MCO ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL CONCESSION REGISTRY HUMAN RESOURCE & MONITORING DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT FINANCE & DEPARTMENT COORDINATION DEPARTMENT LEGAL ICT INTERNAL ACCOUNTS PRESS & RESEARCH PROCUREMENT PROTOCOL SERVICES UNIT AUDIT UNIT PROTOCOL DEVELOPMENT & UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT SUSTAINABILITY UNIT SOUTH EAST SOUTH SOUTH EAST ZONAL OFFICE SOUTH ZONAL ZONAL OFFICE ENUGU OFFICE BENIN ENUGU NORTH EAST NORTH NORTH WEST ZONAL OFFICE CENTRAL ZONAL ZONAL OFFICE MAIDUGURI OFFICE JOS KADUNA Fig. 1: MCO Organizational Structure 24 <!-- page break -->

2.0 MINING CADASTRE OFFICE (MCO) MANDATE The Mining Cadastre Office shall in addition to other functions prescribed under the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 perform the following functions: (i) Receive, consider and dispose applications for mineral titles and permits and applications for the transfer, renewal, modification and relinquishment of mineral titles or extension of mineral title concession areas; (ii) Grant, issue, suspend and (with the approval of the Minister) revoke mineral titles; (iii) Maintain a chronological record of all applications for mineral titles in a Priority Register and General Register and maintain the cadastral registers; (iv) Create and maintain a database of all mineral titles and applications; and (v) Create and maintain a cartographic database of all mineral titles and applications in both paper and electronic formats (the cadastral maps). The current position of the Agency’s full implementation of these functions as an autonomous body has resulted into an increase in attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the sector thereby generating substantial revenue to Government. 25 <!-- page break -->

3.0 MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE MCO IN 2023 In the year under review, the notable achievements of the Office include the following: 1. In 2023, the Office generated the highest revenue so far; N6.071B. 2. 2023 NIRA.ng Presidential Awards 3. Nigeria GovTech Public Service Award: Best Federal MDA in “Citizen-Centric Online Service” awarded by Bureau of Public Service Reforms – The Presidency, 2023 4. Won all Court cases in the year, 2023. 5. Sustained usage of the unveiled new system – eMC+ by MCO staff and stakeholders. 6. Continuous cleaning of database (due to backlog) and full operationalization moving from SIGTIM programme to eMC+. 7. Exponential increase in Mineral Title Application submission by investors in the mining sector 8. Participation in Numerous Local and International Mining Conferences such as London Mines and Money, Australia Down Under, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Investing in African Mining Indaba, Capetown – South Africa etc. Participation in these conferences has served as a dependable platform for attracting foreign investment to the Mining Sector. 26 <!-- page break --> 9. Revocation of 1,619 mineral titles and implementation of the Revoked titles that have defaulted in terms of payment of their Annual Service Fees and other contraventions of the NMMA, 2007 in the database. 10. Deleting of Expired Mineral Titles from the data base. 11. Withdrawal of provisional grants not collected. 12. Publication of grants of Mineral Titles in both print and electronic media. 27 <!-- page break -->

4.0 CONCESSION DEPARTMENT Concession Department is one of the three (3) Technical Departments of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office. It is saddled with the following responsibilities, among others; i. Receiving, processing, and deposing of application for Mineral titles and permits. ii. Record and update receipts of Grant of Initial Service Fee payments on mineral titles. iii. Issue mineral titles and permits to qualified applicants. iv. Maintain a chronological record of all applications for mineral titles and permits in a priority register which is specifically used to ascertain the registration of the application. v. Undertakes such other activities reasonably necessary for carrying out its duties and responsibilities under the provisions of the Act, 2007 and its Regulations, 2011. This report is a compilation of Applications for Mineral Titles received, granted, and issued in the year 2023. A total of 7,242 applications for Mineral Titles (including Permits) were received in the year under review. Of this number, over 5,000 were evaluated while 2,112 is still pending. 4,195 applications were approved for granting, and 3,591 approved grants were issued while 805 were refused for not meeting up with the requirements of the provisions of the NMMA, 2007 and its Regulations made pursuant to it. A total number of 3,415 mineral titles were signed, and 2,183 were issued. 28 <!-- page break -->

4.1 TRANSACTIONS FROM JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 The summary of the various Mineral title applications received and processed by MCO from January to December 2023 under review as well as graphical representation of these information is as follows: S/N TITLE APPLICATIONS GRANTS LICENSES TYPE RECEIVED ISSUED ISSUED 1 EL 4,040 2,174 1,317 2 ML 124 59 51 3 QL 358 233 146 4 SSML 2,279 1,124 669 Total 6,801 3,590 2,183 Table: 2- Showing transactions from January to December 2023 BAR CHART SHOWING ACTIVITIES FROM JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 LICENCES ISSUED 1,400 APPLICATIONS 1,200 RECEIVED 1,000 GRANTS ISSUED 6,000 800 3,000 600 4,000 2,000 400 2,000 1,000 200 0 0 0 EL ML QL SSML EL ML QL SSML EL ML QL SSML Fig 2: Bar chart Showing transactions from January to December 2023 From January to December 2023, a total number of 6,801 applications for Mineral Titles (excluding the permits RP & WUP) were received and 3,590 were approved for grants and eventually 2,183 issued Licenses in compliance with the 29 <!-- page break --> Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act (NMMA) 2007. Note, that 12 applications for Area extension/enlargement was received.

4.2 APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS FROM JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 S/N TITLE TYPE APPLICATIONS PERMITS RECEIVED ISSUED 1 RP 441 405 2 WUP 2 Table: 3 Applications for Permits 2023 [ In 2023 a total number of 441 applications for Reconnaissance Permits were received and 405 were approved and issued; while only 2 applications for Water Use Permit were received, approved and issued, in compliance with the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act, (NMMA) 2007.

4.3 APPLICATIONS FOR MINERAL TITLES RECEIVED IN 2023 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC TOTAL EL 293 419 275 213 419 275 379 382 359 406 285 335 4040 ML 1 5 6 8 50 3 7 14 1 5 12 12 124 QL 21 20 23 15 37 38 30 37 33 28 38 38 358 RP 44 55 34 28 47 28 26 45 36 36 35 27 441 SSML 164 165 148 101 183 136 196 221 228 232 269 236 2279 WUP 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 TOTAL 523 664 486 365 736 480 638 699 657 707 639 648 7245 Table 4: Applications received in 2023 30 <!-- page break --> BAR-CHART SHOWING NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED ON MONTHLY BASES FOR 2023 APPLICATIONS RECEIVED IN 2023 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Fig 3: Bar-Chart Showing Number of Mineral Titles received on Monthly bases for 2023 Applications Received on Monthly Basis Jan to Dec 2023 500 400 300 200 100 0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC EL ML QL RP SSML WUP Fig 4: Bar-Chart Showing Number of Mineral Titles received by title type on Monthly bases for 2023 31 <!-- page break -->

4.4 NUMBER OF APPROVED GRANTS JAN TO DEC 2023 Month EL ML QL SSML WUP TOTAL January 189 12 12 139 0 352 February 187 4 13 98 0 302 March 484 4 49 338 0 875 April 135 2 1 63 0 201 May 175 34 17 44 0 270 June 88 0 34 45 0 167 July 394 0 39 112 0 545 August 159 0 40 72 0 271 September 155 0 13 151 1 320 October 103 0 15 44 0 162 November 229 3 14 102 0 348 December 213 2 14 153 0 382 Total 2511 61 261 1361 1 4195 Table 5: Table showing the Number of Approved Grants Jan to Dec 2023

4.5 SUMMARY OF GRANTS ISSUED PER MONTH IN 2023 Month EL QL ML SSML TOTAL Jan 91 10 9 32 142 Feb 93 12 5 41 151 Mar 178 14 4 63 259 April 219 13 1 81 314 May 229 18 35 170 452 Jun 214 22 0 67 303 Jul 144 34 0 63 241 Aug 219 9 3 92 323 Sept 144 36 2 105 287 Oct 216 20 0 117 353 Nov 189 18 0 80 287 Dec 238 27 0 213 478 TOTAL 2174 233 59 1124 3590 Table 6: summary of Grants Issued Jan to Dec 2023 32 <!-- page break --> Grants Issued Jan to Dec 2023 600 452 478 500 400 323 353 314 303 287 287 300 259 241 200 142 151 100 0 Fig 5: bar-chart Showing Number of Grants Issued per month A total of 3,590 Mineral Titles were granted in the year 2023. The month of December, had the highest with 478, while February had the least with 151 grants. The average for the year per month was 219.

4.6 SUMMARY OF SIGNED LICENSES PER MONTH IN 2023 Month EL ML QL SSML RP TOTAL JANUARY 69 3 1 46 0 119 FEBRUARY 146 0 23 91 0 260 MARCH 50 5 3 54 0 112 APRIL 128 8 0 76 0 212 MAY 104 19 0 40 0 163 JUNE 159 11 1 17 167 355 JULY 100 1 58 65 3 227 AUGUST 203 2 22 231 99 557 SEPTEMBER 168 0 12 20 0 200 OCTOBER 292 0 47 161 100 600 NOVEMBER 205 1 31 117 36 390 DECEMBER 90 2 29 99 0 220 TOTAL 1714 52 227 1017 405 3415 Table: 7 Summary of Licenses Signed per Month in 2023 33 <!-- page break --> 2023 SIGNED LICENSES 400 300 200 100 0 EL ML QL SSML RP Fig 6: Bar chart showing Licenses signed in 2023 A total of 3,415 Mineral Titles were signed in the year 2023. The month of October, had the highest with 600, while March had the least with 112. The average number of Signed Licenses per month was 284.

4.7 SUMMARY OF ISSUED MINERAL TITLES PER MONTH 2023 Month EL QL ML SSML TOTAL Jan 67 1 3 39 110 Feb 130 20 0 73 223 Mar 39 2 5 47 93 April 119 0 8 60 187 May 96 0 18 23 137 Jun 145 1 11 15 211 Jul 90 35 1 43 172 Aug 166 9 2 171 363 Sept 106 9 0 16 131 Oct 218 34 0 108 367 Nov 110 25 1 50 188 Dec 31 10 2 24 67 TOTAL 1317 146 51 669 2249 Table: 8 Showing Summary of issued mineral Titles per Month in 2023 34 <!-- page break --> MINERAL TITLES ISSUED JAN-DEC 2023 400 363 367 300 223 187 211 188 172 200 137 131 110 93 100 67 0 Fig 7: Bar- Chart Showing Number of Issued Mineral Titles in 2023 A total of Mineral Titles 2,249 were issued in the year 2023. The month of October had the highest with 367 while December had the least with 67. The average number issued per month was 187 Mineral Titles.

4.8 VALID MINERAL TITLES AS AT DECEMBER, 2023 S/N TITLE TYPE TOTAL 1 EL 3,356 2 ML 303 3 QL 877 4 SSML 2,160 TOTAL 6,696 Table 9: showing Valid Mineral Titles as at December 2023 VALID MINERAL TITLES AS AT DECEMBER 2023 4,000 3,356 3,000 2,160 2,000 877 1,000 347 0 EL ML QL SSML Fig 8: Bar-Chart Showing Number Valid Mineral Titles as at December, 2023 35 <!-- page break --> During the year under review, the data base of the Office had a total of 6,740 Valid Mineral Titles disaggregated as follows: EL 3,356, ML 347, QL 877 and SSML 2,160.

4.9 UNITS IN CONCESSION DEPARTMENT a. Information Desk: The information desk is the first point of contact with the Office, that handles enquiries and provides information relating to mineral titles and application procedures/requirements in accordance with the Nigeria Mineral and Mining Act, 2007 and its regulation, 2011. b. New Application Desk: The new application desk is saddled with the responsibility of receiving and encoding new applications from applicants for mineral titles. c. Evaluation Desk: The evaluation desk is the technical section that carries out evaluation, enlargement and processing mineral title applications received. d. Grant/License Desk: Gives information on Grant/License and also issuance of new grants/licenses to applicants. 36 <!-- page break -->

5.0 REGISTRY DEPARMENT

5.0 REGISTRY DEPARTMENT The Registry Department is one of the three (3) technical departments of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) and is the custodian of all Mineral Title records in the Office. The department is shouldered with the responsibility of record keeping, preparation of Mineral blocks for bidding, and Modification of Mineral Titles (Renewal, Relinquishment, Abandon/Surrender, Consolidation, Transfer, etc.) During the year under review, the following was achieved:

5.1 DIFFERENT TYPES OF MODIFICATION APPLICATIONS RECEIVED Types Total Renewals 387 Transfers 104 Additional Minerals 37 Conversion 19 Abandon/ Relinquishment 13 Consolidation 3 TOTAL 563 Table 10: Summary of Modification Received in 2023 37 <!-- page break --> Chart Title 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Fig 9: Bar-Chart Showing Number of Different types of Applications for Modifications Received in 2023 A total number of 563 applications for modifications were received in 2023. Within the period under review, the most active form of modification is Renewal followed by Transfers and Additional Minerals with the following number of applications received on them; 387, 104 and 37 respectively.

5.2 SUMMARY OF RENEWAL APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AND APPROVED IN 2023: S/No. Type Applications Approvals Received 1 EL 252 156 2 ML 0 0 3 QL 60 44 4 SSML 68 47 5 RP 7 5 6 Total 387 252 Table: 11 showing summary of Renewal Applications Received and Approved in 2023 38 <!-- page break --> RENEWAL APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AND APPROVED IN 2023 300 271 249 250 200 150 98 100 63 76 74 50 8 2 0 EL ML QL SSML RP Applications Received Approvals Fig 10: Bar chart showing Renewal Applications Received and Approved in 2023 The table above shows the total number of applications for renewals of Mineral Titles received in 2023. In the same year, approval was obtained for a total of 252 (including approvals for renewal applications filed prior to year 2023). However, other renewal applications still pending are being evaluated or awaiting inputs from the Mines Inspectorate Department of the Ministry.

5.3 MONTHLY RENEWAL APPLICATIONS RECIEVED MONTHS EL ML QL SSML RP TOTAL JANUARY 6 0 13 4 1 24 FEBRUARY 14 0 5 7 1 27 MARCH 18 0 5 6 2 31 APRIL 17 0 5 3 0 25 MAY 25 0 6 6 0 37 JUNE 20 0 5 6 0 31 JULY 18 0 4 1 0 23 AUGUST 37 0 3 16 1 57 SEPTEMBER 32 0 1 5 0 38 OCTOBER 30 0 3 3 0 36 NOVEMBER 21 0 4 9 0 34 DECEMBER 14 0 6 2 2 24 TOTAL 252 0 60 68 7 387 Table: 12 Showing Monthly Renewal Applications Received 39 <!-- page break --> MONTHLY APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL RECEIVED IN 2023 40 30 20 10 0 EL ML QL SSML RP Fig. 11: Bar Chart Showing Renewal Applications Received on A monthly basis

5.4 MONTHLY RENEWAL APPLICATIONS APPROVED IN 2023 MONTHS EL ML QL SSML RP TOTAL JANUARY 0 0 0 0 0 0 FEBRUARY 6 0 2 0 0 8 MARCH 0 0 1 3 2 6 APRIL 7 0 2 6 2 17 MAY 11 0 4 3 0 18 JUNE 2 0 0 0 0 2 JULY 0 0 2 0 0 2 AUGUST 121 0 32 35 1 189 SEPTEMBER 2 0 0 0 0 2 OCTOBER 6 0 0 0 0 6 NOVEMBER 0 0 0 0 0 0 DECEMBER 1 0 1 0 0 2 TOTAL 156 0 44 47 5 252 Table: 13 Showing Monthly Renewal Applications Approved 40 <!-- page break --> MONTHLY APPROVED APPLICATIONS FOR RENEWAL IN 2023 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 EL ML QL SSML RP Fig. 12: Bar chart showing renewal applications approved on a monthly basis

5.5 TRANSFERS: S/No. Type Applications Granted Pending Refused Received 1 EL 68 61 7 0 2 ML 05 4 1 0 3 QL 10 10 0 0 4 SSML 21 20 0 1 6 Total 104 95 8 1 Table: 14 showing transfers applications received, granted, pending and refused. Transfers Received and Approved Jan to Dec 2023 80 66 60 60 40 21 20 5 8 10 8 5 0 EL ML QL SSML Applications Approved Fig 13: Bar Chart Showing Transfers Applications Received and Approved in 2023. A total of 104 applications were received for Transfer/Assignment, 95 were approved and endorsed, including approval that was pending from last year. 41 <!-- page break -->

5.6 REVOCATION: SUMMARY OF APPROVED REVOCATIONS FOR THE YEAR, 2023 S/N TYPE TOTAL 1 EL 528 2 ML 31 3 QL 274 4 SSML 786 Total 1,619 Table 15: Showing Approved Revocations for 2023 Approved Revocations Jan to Dec 2023 1000 786 800 600 528 400 274 200 31 0 EL ML QL SSML Fig 14: Bar Chart Showing Approved Revocations for 2023

5.7 NOTICE OF INTENTION TO REVOKE DORMANT (INACTIVE) MINERAL TITLES: S/N TYPE TOTAL 1 EL 562 2 ML 20 3 QL 104 4 SSML 277 Total 963 Table 16: Showing notice of intension to revoke dormant (inactive) mineral titles for 2023 42 <!-- page break -->

5.8 UPDATE ON BITUMEN In furthering the objective of the economic diversification policy of Government, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD in 2020 renewed its commitment and adopted a strategy that leveraged on private sector participation towards developing the country’s Bitumen resources. 2. Government’s intention is aimed at ensuring that the Nigeria’s Bitumen resources are fully harnessed for domestic industrial and infrastructural development of the country as well as for export purposes. 3. Given the national demand for Bitumen as the main input for asphalt production for road construction and other civil engineering works, and the need to re-invigorate and stimulate investment into the Mining Sector in line with Government’s Policy thrust of diversifying the Economy, MMSD in January, 2020 constituted a 9-member Ministerial Committee for the Development of Bitumen Resources (Bitumen Committee). The Committee was inaugurated on the 31st January 2020 by the then Honourable Minister. 4. The Bitumen Committee was chaired by the Director-General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office Engr. O. S. Nkom, who was tasked with the overall mandate of determining the criteria for the allocation of the delineated Bitumen blocks and ways of developing the resources to ensure maximum benefit for the country. 5. Nigeria is endowed with large deposits of Bitumen with a reserve estimate of 42 billion barrels which occurs in the Bitumen belt that stretches across Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Edo States over an area of about 120km by 4km. 6. Given the uniqueness and peculiarities tied to the exploration, development and extraction of Bitumen (Tarsand), the Bitumen Committee observed that the 43 <!-- page break --> development of the Bitumen resources requires specialized set of technical activities, as well as huge financial involvement. 7. The Committee noted the need to allocate the delineated Bitumen blocks through a transparent and competitive bidding process to only companies that have the requisite experience, technological expertise and financial capacity to adequately carry out the bitumen development to a meaningful extraction level. 8. Consequently, MMSD, based on recommendation of the Bitumen Committee engaged the services of Messrs PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in November, 2021 which served as the Transaction Adviser (TA)/ Program Manager for the competitive bidding of the delineated Bitumen blocks to potential investors. 9. In line with the public procurement guidelines, a two-stage bidding process (collectively referred to as the “Bidding Process”) was adopted based on the recommendation of the TA for the selection of the successful Bidders for award of the Bitumen blocks for development. 10. The execution of bid activities which lasted for the period of 20months (Nov. 2021 – June 2023) was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and the regulations made pursuant to the Act and consistent with international best practices. 11. In all, a total of 21 bidders made 27 bid submissions for 20 sub-blocks, out of the 40 sub-blocks available for bidding. At the end of the bidding exercise, 17 bidders were successful and approved as preferred bidders for the development of Twenty (20) Sub-blocks of Nigeria’s Bitumen resource. 12. Upon submitting the report of the Bitumen Committee to the Honourable Minister, Mr. Henry Dele Alake he approved the reconstitution of the Bitumen 44 <!-- page break --> committee, to develop the criteria for disposing the remaining unsold Bitumen sub- blocks, to competent interested investors through competitive bidding process. 13. In addition to the Ministerial Bitumen Committee, the Honourable Minister approved the setting up of a 5-man standing technical committee, to closely monitor the Bitumen resource development activities, by the Companies granted Bitumen Exploration Licenses and Mining Leases and ensure that, the activities are conducted, in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and the Regulations made pursuant to the Act. These Committees are yet to be inaugurated. 14. Furthermore, the Honourable Minister approved that Messrs PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (PwC) that served as the Transaction Adviser (TA) for first round of the Bitumen block competitive bidding project be retained as the TA for the second round of the Bitumen block competitive bidding project. Messrs PwC has also been invited to attend the inauguration ceremony of the reconstituted Bitumen Committee. 45 <!-- page break -->

6.0 MONITORING AND CORDINATION DEPARTMENT

6.1 INTRODUCTION: The Monitoring and Coordination Department (M & C) is one the largest Technical Departments in the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office. This has become so, as the Department gave birth to Six Zonal Offices, one each located at the six geo-political zones of Nigeria with a mandate to decentralize the activities at the Head Office and create a client-friendly environment for our numerous investors.

6.2 FUNCTIONS OF THE ZONES: The Cadastre Zonal Offices were created for administrative convenience with the following purposes: i. To receive and register mineral title applications which are correctly submitted in a prescribed manner in the States under their zones. ii. To receive and register all modifications within their zones iii. To receive all form of complaints arising from mineral applications/titles from Companies, Communities and or individuals. iv. To handle other functions that may be assigned to them by DG or the Director (M & C).

6.3 ATIVITIES EXECUTED BY ZONES The activities of the zones are as found in the following reports submitted by the Zonal heads below: i. South-East: Pages 40 – 43 ii. South-South: Pages 44 – 45 iii. South-West: Pages 46 – 50 iv. North-East: Pages 51 – 53 46 <!-- page break --> v. North-Central Pages 54 – 56 vi. North-West: Pages 57– 60 The statistics of the Zonal Offices’ activities are imbedded in their respective reports. It is however, observed that while some of the Zonal Officers took statistics of the activities in the zone, others lumped it in their general report. CONCLUSION The full take-off of the Zonal Offices shall be an avenue for providing ease of doing business in the mineral title administration to the grass-roots hence, its importance cannot be over-emphasized. 47 <!-- page break -->

6.1.0 SOUTH-EAST ENUGU ZONAL OFFICE

6.1.1 PROGRESS/ACHIEVEMENTS: Within the period under review, the following twenty-Six (26) items were provided: a) Two (2) Sign boards – 1 big and 1 small one, both already mounted; b) A notice board for Office use was procured; c) Car battery (now replaced); d) Bad brake pads replaced and hand break faults fixed; e) Over-due servicing (done); f) Wheel balancing and alignment (done); g) Official phone line/Phone acquired with an officially registered no. 0811 916 1189; h) One (1) big Ox fan has been acquired for the Zonal Office Conference Hall; i) Three (3) wall clocks were procured; j) Fifty (50) plastic Chairs and two (2) tables were bought for use in the Conference Hall; k) For conferences and meetings, tea cups and other cutleries/utensils have been bought; l) One (1) Projector; m) The obsolete desktop computers (1#) was refurbished and put to use; n) Materials for bringing water up to the Office have been bought; o) All the three (3) bad water systems have been repaired; p) We have been buying all the stationeries needed in the Office; q) We have been buying diesel for our gen set; 48 <!-- page break --> r) Some materials have been bought to install water in the Office; s) The solar systems destroyed by thunderstorm was fixed, DC Surge is expected to be installed immediately to avoid further damage by thunderstorm and the batteries have reached/exhausted their lifespan and needed to be replaced; t) Internet cable and the server affected by the cutting of a tree branch were also fixed; u) We successfully organized a sensitization seminar with a good number of stakeholders in attendance; a communique was also raised at the end of the programme; v) Visited only one (1) site; w) We had one (1) courtesy visit to Hon. Commissioner of Environment and Climate Change Enugu State, who also oversees mining activities in the State; x) The Office also hosted Ebonyi State Hon. Commissioner for Solid Minerals in the Zonal Office; y) Few applications were received in the Office; z) Conflict resolution meetings were also held and some of the matters resolved.

6.1.2 Some mails were sent to us to treat within the period under review. The following matters were handled: 49 <!-- page break --> S/N SUBJECT COMPLAINANT RESPONDENT STAGE REMARKS a. Community consent for Ndieze-Echi Ebons Metals Concluded/ License yet to Quarry Lease at Otam Village Devt. Union Izzi and Solid Grant be issued in our Community LGA of Ebonyi Minerals LTD issued. State (36642 EL) b. Letter of complaint/ Request Noble Joseph Okoye Hyacinth KIV Hqters Kelechi handling c. Complaint against Greenfield Ekubra Greenfield KIV Litigation/ Metals LTD/ Chief Henry Landowners/ Metals LTD/ court case Ahanotu on their illegal/ Lords Chief Henry unlawful conducts in Ekubara Association, Ahanotu (24324 Farmland in Amaonye Amalokpa SSML) and Community Amaonye, 28953 SSML) Ishiagu, Ivo LGA, Ebonyi State d. Letter of complaint and an E. D. Joseph & Tyson Rock Int’l CDA signed Concluded application for the revocation Co. (EBIDANJOE LTD (33617 QLS) by the of title for Quarry Lease no. CHAMBERS) community 33617 granted to Tyson Rock Attoneys at Law and Tyson Int’l LTD for failure to enter Rock Int’l into CDA with Amata LTD Community of Ishiagu, Ivo LGA Ebonyi State and folr lack of Quarry capacity, having abandoned the Quarry Lease for pover two years after obtaining same. e. Petition concerning His Royal Ifedi Action The Alleged Meeting fraudulent consent letter Highness, Eze J. Mining Nig. LTD has slated for presented by Ifedi Action N. Egwu (34898 QLS) responded 17/01/2024 Mining Nig. LTD f. Letter of Attestation and Office of the Triax Company Triax Meeting to introduction of Gemrock President (Nig) LTD (53180 Company be re- Integrated Ventures LTD as General, Okpoto EL) (Nig) LTD scheduled the only recognized company Progressive failed to to quarry on our land Union O. P. U.) show up to the meeting scheduled on 19/12/2023 g. Refutal Letter Amaonye Greenfield KIV Litigation/ Re: Protest by Amalokpa Clan Community Metals LTD court case of Amaonye Village in Ishiagu Devt. Union A. C. (28953 SSML Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State D. U Federated, and 24324 against the mining License Ishiagu Ivo LGA SSML) granted to Greenfield Metals of Ebonyi State LTD in respect of community 50 <!-- page break --> land delineated by coordinatges 5 55 18N/7 28 50E and 5 55 29N/7 29 44E h. Letter of protest against Emeka Edu & Palladium Re- Community Palladium Mining LTD over Associates Mining LTD scheduled to meet with fake community consent/ (44969 EL) meeting the License acquisition date yet to companies to be harmonize announced and come up with areas assigned to individual companies i. Untitled Umuosigide Mosra Energy On-going Obollo Orie LTD investigation Autonomous Community, Obollo Orie, Udenu LGA Enugu State j. An urgent request for the V. C. Nwankwo Jinloys Nigeria The alleged The company immediate grant of Quarry & Co. LTD (46404 QLS) is yet to consultant Lease to Wanda Quarry collect letter has been Company Nig. LTD and for response called to pick Revocation/ cancellation of up the lettef Quarry Lease no. 46404 QLS but is yet to granted to Jinloys Nigeria LTD come. k Application for Due Process Okechukwu Due Diligence Greenfield To be Report on the owner of the Okafor & Co. Report Metals LTD processed License and company (29804 EL) further by covering the following within the Headquarters coordinates: E7 29 30 N5 55 area 15, E7 29 30 N5 55 00, E7 28 covered by 00 N5 55 00, E7 28 00 N5 56 the set of 00, E7 28 45 N5 56 00, E7 28 coordinates. 45 N5 55 15 belonging to Amonye Community, Ishiagu Ivo LGA Ebonyi State measuring about 15 coordinate units Table 17: List to complaints handled by South East Zonal Office. Some have been completely resolved, while others are at various stages. 51 <!-- page break -->

6.2.0 SOUTH-SOUTH BENIN ZONAL OFFICE The South-South Zonal Office, Benin had a busy year 2023 as the Office was able to register applications, carry out resolution meetings, confirmation of consents, andattend workshops and sensitization meetings. Details below The Benin Office registered a total of 72 applications for various mineral titles, this includes: • 17 Exploration Title Applications • 1 Reconnaissance Permit • 6 Quarry Lease Applications • 48 Small Scale Mining Lease Applications The Office received letters from the head Office in Abuja on various occasions, these letters were often disclaimers and complaints from applicants, title owners or Host communities where the mining activities are carried out. The Benin Office responds to these letters by calling the parties involved, scheduling a meet and in most cases travel down to the host communities to confirm originality of the consent presented by applicants. The reports and findings from each meeting are transmitted back to the Head Office. The Zonal Office sent her staff to Abuja for a workshop titled R2D “Repositioning for Development” sometimes in May 2023, the workshop was to prepare all the staff of the Office for the task ahead and as well as know the challenges faced at the various Zonal Offices. Furthermore, the Office was invited on several occasions by the Edo State 52 <!-- page break --> government to sensitize the miners and stakeholders in the state on how to apply for mineral titles, how to settle disputes amongst themselves and ultimately the way forward for the state as regards mining. The Office received a face lift as blinds, long chair for visitors, a fridge and an air-conditioner were supplied during the year. The Office is gradually fulfilling her purpose and is confident of a better working year 2024. 53 <!-- page break -->

6.3.0 SOUTH-WEST IBADAN ZONAL OFFICE A total of 32 Cases were handled and treated in the Zone in the year under review, below are the breakdown.

6.3.1 CONCLUDED Thirteen (13) cases were brought to logical conclusion at the Zonal level and Recommendations sent to Headquarters.

6.3.2 REMINDER STAGE One (1) case is due for Reminder.

6.3.3 PENDING CASES Four (4) cases are pending.

6.3.4 CASE STILL AT EVALUATION Four (4) cases still at evaluation

6.3.5 REVOKED, REJECTED, AND RELEASED TITLES Five (5) cases were either rejected, released or revoked.

6.3.6 NO– RESPONSE CASES Three (3) cases were slated for meeting, no party avail themselves.

6.3.7 APPRECIATION One (1) case was just an appreciation letter to the MCO, not a petition.

6.3.8 HEADQUARTER 54 <!-- page break --> One (1) case has been handled at the Headquarter but was still sent to the Zone. Below is the list of complaints handled by the Zone in the year under review: S/N COMPLAINANT SUBJECT STATUS/REMARKS 01 A U FIELDS DISCONTENANCE OF PURPORTED CONSENT LETTER RECOMMENDATION ATTACHED TO APPLICATION FOR EXPLORATION MINING FROM THE ZONE LICENSE SUBMITTED BY EL-TAHDAM EXPLORATION LTD (37187EL), ABARSHI EXPLORATION (41407EL) RESPECTIVELY 02 IJANA PEOPLE RE: CONFIRMATION OF LANDOWNERS CONSENT TO ENL PENDING CASE, CONSTRUCTION LTD MEETING RESCHEDULED. 03 LAWVILLE UNAUTHORISED AND ILLEGAL OCCUPATION AND LETTERS SENT FOR ATTORNEYS TRESPASS ON IMEKO COMMUNITY LAND BY AKLAND MEETING, NONE MULTISYSTEMS NIG. LTD (37784EL) SHOWED UP. 04 KATA – UNAUTHORISED AND ILLEGAL OCCUPATION AND LETTERS SENT FOR ONIPOPO TRESPASS ON IMEKO COMMUNITY LAND BY AKLAND MEETING, NONE FAMILY MULTISYSTEMS NIG. LTD (37784EL) SHOWED UP. 05 K. E NGWOKE & RE: ISSUANCE OF MINING CERTIFICATE TO PRINCE NO COMPLAINT CO OKEDELE TIMOTHY OPERATING UNDER THE NAME OF JUST APPRECIATION PRINCE OLUSEGUN OKEDELE CLEAN MINING INDUSRIES LTD; OUR APPRECIATION (36942SSML) 06 ADELAJA RE: GRANT OF EXPLORATION LICENSE/LEASE TO ALLEGED OGUNTIMRIN 38117EL FILLED BY ONE ROADBIT LTD, A FICTICIOUS COMPANY’S & ASSOCIATES NON-EXISTENT AND UNAUTHORISED COMPANY TO APPLICATION STILL WORK ON THE LAND BELONGING TO THE DESENTANTS IN EVALUATION. OF ERELU ADENUPEBI OF AGBOLENU RULING HOUSE (SPA) OKWUN-OWU ODOGBOLU L.G. A, OGUN STATE PETITION AGAINST THE INCONSIDERABLE & ADVERSE REVOKED TITLE ACT(S)/ OPERATION OF OJIBABS NIGERIA LIMITED AND 07 BAALE ILATE, MR TAJUDEEN ABIORO OVER THE COMMUNITY LAND ONILATE OF OF ILATE VILLAGE IN OBAFEMI/OWODE L. G. A ILATE NOTIFICATION OF WRONGFUL USAGE OF CADASTRE REVOKED TITLE LICENSE ISSUED VIDE QUARRY LEASE NO. 24336QLS BY 08 J. T. OGUNNIYI OJIBABAS NIGERIA LIMITED AT ILATE VILLAGE & CO OBAFEMI/OWODE L. G. A. OGUN STATE SAVE US FROM THE CONTINOUS HARRASMENT AND REVOKED TITLE INTIMIDATION OF OJIBABS NIGERIA LIMITED & MR 09 ILATE YOUTH C TAJUDEEN ARIORO (TJ) UNDER THE GUISE OF MINING D A SAND ON OUR COMMUNITY LAND IN ILATE VILLAGE, COMMUNITY OBAFEMI/OWODE L. G. A OGUN STATE 10 BAALE PETITION AGAINST CARDOGAN EXPLORATION & RECOMMENDATION ARAROMI PRODUCTION LIMITED WITH APPLICATION NUMBER FROM THE ZONE2 44000EL 55 <!-- page break --> RE: NOTICE OF UNCONSCIONABLE ATTEMPT BY AN APPLICATION STILL APPLICANT NAMED SHIROKU MINING COMPANY LTD IN EVALUATION 11 FABIYI FAMILY TO HOODWINK AND DECEIVE THE OFFICE INTO GRANTING A LICENSE UPON A SITE WHERE THERE IS NO CONSENT OF THE LAND OWNERS FAMILY 12 SEYI RAHEEM & ILLEGAL AND UNAUTHORISED MINING ON A PARCEL OF PENDING CASE CO LAND AT KOMU, ITESIWAJU L. G. A OF OYO STATE BY ONE HERITAGE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT LTD (EL38243) HERITAGE MINERAL 13 EMIRATES RE: LETTER OF COMPLAINT AND REQUEST FOR CASE ALREADY LITHIUM WITHDRAWAL OF LICENSE HANDLED AT THE PROJECTS HQS – ABUJA. LIMITED 14 SABIGANNA OF ILLEGAL ENTRANCE ON OUR LAND BY EMIRATES REMINDER SENT IGANNA LITHIUM PROJECT LIMITED, AJN GLOBAL RESOURCES KINGDOM LIMITED DISCLAIMER LETTER IN RESPECT TO GREGARIOUS AN ALLEGED 15 BAALE ILUA FOCUS MINING NIGERIA LIMITED – EL35993 AND LEBAO COMPANY (LEBAO) CHIEFTAINCY MINING NIGERIA LIMITED – EL30715 HAS BEEN RELEASED. FAMILY, SAKI OYO STATE. PETITION FOR TRESPASS TO GBEPAKAN VILLAGE, ILUA APPLICATION STILL 16. BAALE ILUA LAND, SAKI WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT, OYO STATE. UNDER EVALUATION CHIEFTAINCY 55128SSML WEST AFRICAN NEW ENERGY FAMILY, SAKI OYO STATE. 17. PLURAL LETTER OF NOTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION CONCEPT FROM THE ZONE NIGERIA LIMITED 18. H.R.H OBA NON – ISSUANCE OF LANDOWNERS CONCEPT RECOMMENDATION OPOOLA FROM THE ZONE OLAORE FOLAWUYO, ITESIWAJU, OYO STATE. 19. SAIGANNA OF ILLEGAL ENTRANCE ON OUR LAND BY EMIRATES RECOMMENDATION IGANNA LITHIUM PROJECT LIMITED. 35516EL FROM THE ZONE KINGDOM, IGANNA, OYO STATE 20. HIS ROYAL LETTER OF COMPLAINT AND WITHDRAWAL OF LICENSE ALLEGED MAJESTY, OBA COMPANY’S RAFIU APPLICATION OSUOLALE REJECTED MUSTAPHA, 56 <!-- page break --> ADEEYANI II, OKEHO, KAJOLA, OYO STATE. 21. H.R.H OBA PETITION AGAINST THE GRANT OF SSML NO. 45508 RECOMMENDATION ADELERE BELONGING TO EFFECTORY PLUS LIMITED, IN RESPECT FROM THE ZONE ADEBARE OF ALL THAT COORDINATES SITUATE AT IWAJOWA L.G.A ADEWUYI. OYO STATE AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF BREAKDOWN OF IDIYAN LAND, LAW AND ORDER IBARAPA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE RE: UNAUTHORIZED AND ILLEGAL OCCUPATION AND NOTICE OF MEETING 22. AKLAND TRESPASS ON IMEKO COMMUNITY LAND BY AKLAND SENT, NO PARTY MULTISYSTEMS MULTISYSTEMS NIGERIA LIMITED WITH APPLICATION SHOWED UP NIGERIA NUMBER 37784EL LIMITED 23. OBA ILLEGAL AND UNLAWFUL APPLICATION MADE RECOMMENDATION ODESANMI WITHOUT MY CONSENT BY NAMRTINA GLOBAL FROM THE ZONE SALAH ADENIYI INVESTMENT LIMITED. 36338EL MISREPRESENTATION OF FACTS, TRESPASS AND CASE ADJOURNED ILLEGAL ENCROACHMENT; A CALL FOR INVALIDATION TO JANUARY. 24. OLUDARE OF MINING LICENSE OBTAINED UNDER FALSE ADEJARE & CO PRETENCE. 33054EL 25. ABIODUN LETTER OF COMPLAINT AND REAFFIRMATION OF RECOMMENDATION OGUNDARE CONSENT TO 54918SSML MEZZO FORTE PROSPECT LTD FROM THE ZONE FAMILY DEMAND FOR REJECTION OF CADASTRE APPLICATION 26. GRAVIS LEX BT EMOTISE GLOBAL SERVICES NIGERIA LIMITED IN RECOMMENDATION PRACTICE RESPECT OF OGUNTEDO VILLAGE IN EPE LOCAL FROM THE ZONE GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS STATE. 36358QLS 27. HRM OBA SURREPTITIOUSLY CAPTURED WITHOUT THE VALID CONCLUDED CASE JACOB ADENIYI CONSENT OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY & IT’S ADELOWO PARAMOUNT RULER. 35152EL OMOLE II 28. OBA NICHOLAS PROTEST AGAINST EXPLORATION LICENSE NO. 40916EL RECOMMENDATION OYELAMI OF AJN GLOBAL RESOURCES LIMITED. FROM THE ZONE FOLARANMI (JP) REVOCATION OF MINERAL TITLES 39150EL GRANTED TO RECOMMENDATION CLAIMS & INSURANCE DIAGONISTICS LIMITED FOR FROM THE ZONE 29. AKINYELE FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH MANDATORY PROVISION OF SANYAOLU & SECTION 100 OF THE NIGERIAN MINERALS AND MINING CO ACT 2007 57 <!-- page break --> 30. ASSOCIATION PETITION AGAINST WASGWANG GLOBAL INDUSTRIES CONCLUDED CASE OF (37828EL) MALCOMINES MINOR METALS LTD LANDOWNERS (38244SSML) AND LAWAL ABIODUN SALAIMAN (34184SSML) 31. SABIGANNA OF ILLEGAL ENTRANCE ON OUR LAND BY NEWSTAR APPLICATION STILL IGANNA MINERALS LIMITED. 42646EL IN EVALUATION. KINGDOM, IGANNA, OYO STATE 32. ALFURQON REPORT OF UNLAWFUL PLACEMENT OF MINERAL TITLE CASE KEPT IN VIEW GLOBAL NO MEANS OF CONCEPTS COMMUNICATING NIGERIA WITH THE LIMITED PETITIONER. Table 18: List of complaints handled by South West Zonal Office in 2023 58 <!-- page break -->

6.4.0 NORTH-EAST MAIDUGURI ZONAL OFFICE

6.4.1 Staff Strength and Commitment The North-East Zonal staff are four in number. These includes the Zonal Head, Administrative Officer, a Surveyor and driver. The Staff are all punctual and committed to work. To meet the desired target upon which the Office is being established, there is urgent need to deploy more staff because presently the staffs are limited in number.

6.4.2 Existing Office Facilities/Equipment i. Office Vehicle: The Office vehicle (Hilux) is in good working order except the four tyres and battery that call for change and the need for general servicing and fuelling the vehicle. ii. The 25KVA installed generator is in good working order but the battery is no more working. There is need for a new one. iii. Solar Batteries and Panels: Due to ongoing renovation of the entire Office complex, some of the panels are transferred temporary to the nearby roof while others are kept pending the completion of the renovation. However, all the batteries and panels are perfectly working. The renovation contractor has requested for change of iron rod to aluminum rod because the contact of iron rod upon which the solar panels are laid upon now is creating rusting effect thereby damaging the aluminum zinc. MCO/Mindiver is urged to take a good measure. 59 <!-- page break --> iv. Computer System and printers are in good order except the continuous need for system upgrade and update. v. Furniture: All the furniture are in good order

6.4.3 New Facilities/Equipment Besides the existing facilities, there are also new facilities supplied to the Office by MCO/MINDIVER through the contractor. These facilities/equipment include the following: a. Aluminum Burglary Proof b. Window blind cotton c. Water supply connected to Borno State water board with over-head Tank as the reservoir. d. Visitor’s chair e. Photocopy table f. Office file cabinet g. Hajer Thermocool Fridge – HR142 h. SKYRUN Air-condition one Horse Power. The facilities supplied above are presently in good order.

6.4.4 Office Activities The Office activities are going on smoothly. However, considering the security challenges confronting the zone particularly in the past, but as peace is being restored now in most of the areas, we believe, very soon activities will rise to the greater height, even as there is continuous sensitization and awareness on the Office existence and its functions. 60 <!-- page break -->

6.4.5 One Day Retreat Organized by the Head Office Three staff of the zone as nominated by the management participated in the one-day retreat organized by the Head-Office on 3rd May, 2023, at Bon-Elvis Hotel Abuja. The retreat was aimed at equipping entire staff targeted at moving Mining Cadastre Office forward. 6.4.6 eMC+ and Network Instability This year, the Office experienced poor and unstable network thereby affecting the use of eMC+ which totally rely on network availability. There is urgent need for an I.T expert who will mediate in arresting such kind of challenges. We strongly appeal for intervention.

6.4.7 Correspondence/Email Most of our correspondence is channels through emails. Presently we no longer receive messages via this email. There is urgent need for email reactivation. 61 <!-- page break -->

6.5.0 NORTH-CENTRAL JOS ZONAL OFFICE The North-central Zonal Office has experienced a gradual influx of activities ranging from inquiries about mining sites as well as applications for Mineral titles, conflict resolutions and other official activities. The Zonal Office is up and running but not without challenges that have really affected the mode of operations and official activities. In spite of all these, we have remained resilient and determined to ensure the aims and objectives of the Zonal Office is achieved, which is principally to bring services to the door steps of stakeholders.

6.5.1 MINERAL TITLE APPLICATIONS RECIEVED. S/N STATE NO. OF MINERAL TITLE APPLICATIONS 1 Niger 2 2 Kwara 2 3 Plateau 1 4 Bauchi 3 5 Benue 2 6 Nassarawa 5 7 Kogi 0 Other States outside the Zone 1 Ebonyi 3 2 FCT 3 3 Adamawa 12 4 Osun 2 5 Kaduna 1 6 Taraba 1 Total 37 Table 19: Number of Mineral Title applications received in the North Central Zone in 2023 The above applications have been successfully registered at the North Central Zonal Office Jos. However, the challenges we encountered is associated with 62 <!-- page break --> issuance of revenue receipt for investors that made online payment for processing fee and other payments due to Mining Cadastre Office and Centres.

6.5.2 CONFLICT RESOLUTIONS In the year under review, the Zonal Office had also received about 77 protest/complaint(s) letters from different companies and communities. These letters were all directed to the North-central from the headquarters to investigate and make recommendation to the Director-General.

6.5.3 SUMMARY OF LETTERS RECEIVED FOR CONFLICT/RESOLUTION IN THE NORTH CENTRAL S/N STATE NUMBEROF NUMBER OF FIRST NUMBER OF LETTERS COMMUNICATION REMINDERS RECIEVED SENT 1 NIGER 6 6 2 2 KWARA 7 7 4 3 PLATEAU 11 10 6 4 BENUE 18 15 11 5 NASSARAWA 13 10 5 6 KOGI 19 17 13 7 BAUCHI 3 0 0 TOTAL 77 65 41 Table 20: Number of letters received for conflict/resolution in the North Central Total number of conflicts resolved in the North - Central = 9 Total number of reminders for responses being awaited = 26 Total number of fact-finding missions = 4 So far, the Office has written about 65 letters to all respondents and 41 reminders. Some complainants have reached understanding with the respondents. Over 90% of our correspondence with these companies had been through email addresses and WhatsApp lines provided by the companies. 63 <!-- page break --> Currently, North-central has opened a Conflict Resolution Register to enable it keep track of all transactions. This register will help in effective and efficient way in tracking and ensuring no complain coming to the Zone is left unattended.

6.5.4 COURTESY CALL TO SECURITY AGENCIES AND GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS On assumption of Office in June 2023, the strategy was to first and foremost ensure there was an adequate publicity and synergy between the Office and major stakeholders in the industry which included and not limited to the traditional council, security agencies and government. It is however important to note that this strategy is not a one-off thing but a continues process. So far, the Office has established a robust working relationship with the under listed through courtesy visits. 1. Courtesy call to His Majesty, Da Jacob Gyang Buba. Gbong Gwom Jos. Plateau State on the 12th July 2023 2. Courtesy call to The Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp. Plateau State on the 13th July 2023 3. Courtesy call to The Director, State Security Service. Plateau State Command. Plateau State on the 20th July 2023 4. Courtesy call to His Excellency, The Governor of Plateau State. Barr. Caleb M. Mutfwang on the 25th August 2023 The Office is not relenting in its move to creating more awareness in the entire spectrum of the mining industry within the zone. Preparations are on top gear to ensure expansion of the frontier of our hold in the Zone. 64 <!-- page break -->

6.6.0 NORTH-WEST KADUNA ZONAL OFFICE North-West Zonal Office as one of the Six (6) Zonal Offices is located on the 1st Floor of the National Steel Raw Material Exploration Agency (NSRMEA) Building Complex at No. 18A Rabah Road, Malali Kaduna, Nigeria, and the following Seven (7) States fall within its jurisdiction: Kaduna (Head Quarter), Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara.

6.6.1. STAFF AND STATUTORY INFORMATION S/NO NAME SEX RANK GL REMARKS 1 SAMINU ASHIRU HARUNA M PRINCIPAL GEOLOGIST 12 Zonal Cadastre Officer 2 HUSSAINI SULEIMAN M SENIOR ACCOUNTANT 10 Head of Account MASARATI BAKARI 3 F ADMIN OFFICER 1 09 Head of Admin GIREI 4 MUSTAPHA IDRIS M ADMIN OFFICER II 08 Admin Staff SALAU SENIOR SCIENTIFIC Desk Officer Consent 5 M 08 ABDUL MALIK OFFICER II /Liaison Officer 6 BAKURA OBED YASHIM M SYSTEM ANALYST II 08 In charge of ICT Driver/Vehicle 7 UMAR YUSUF M SENIOR DRIVER 06 Maintenance Table 21: List of North West Zonal Officers

6.6.2. ACHIEVEMENT(S) FOR THE YEAR • IPPIS Biometric and Pensions Enrolment and Capturing of the North-West Zonal Office Staff at the Headquarters in August 2023. • Receiving and recording of New Applications • Receiving and recording of Modification Applications. • Receipt and Record of Consent Forms. 65 <!-- page break --> • Receipt of combined, over Forty (40) Letters and Mails and e-mails from the Headquarters as well as from Clients. • Treatment of estimated 80% of the Received Letters, Mails and E-mails received from the Headquarters as well as from clients. Kindly find attached a list of a few Letters that have been treated by the North-West Zonal Office in 2023 (fig. A) 66 <!-- page break --> LIST OF LETTERS RECIEVED AND TREATED MAILS, BY NORTH WEST ZONAL OFFICE, 2023 S/ DESCRIPTION REMARKS N 1 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded, on behalf of the Office of Response received from Hakimin Kwanga, Maginga District, Ngaski LGA, Kebbi State; against EL- Amea Agro & Mining 033035 belonging to Amea Agro & Mining Export Alliance Ltd; against EL- Export Alliance Limited 044611 belonging to Three Crown Mine Ltd 2 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded, on behalf of the Office of Response received from The Village Head, Old Afaka Ashehu, Rigasa District, Igabi LGA, Kaduna Sahalan Civil/Mining State; against SSML-042314 belonging to Sahalan Civil/Mining Engineering Engineering Co. Ltd Co. Ltd; against EL-042293 belonging to Abdulhamidu Abdullahi 3 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded, on behalf of the Office of Response received from The District Head of Kubai, Shanga LGA, Kebbi State; against EL-039226 Sahel Mining Group Ltd. belonging to Sahel Mining Group against EL-041276; EL-041766; EL- 039844; EL-040147 4 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded, on behalf of the Office of Awaiting response. The District Head of Danko, Marafa Danko, Kebbi State against EL-043136 belonging to Shorefield Minerals Ltd 5 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded, on behalf of Mai Ungwan Awaiting Response. Fan-Turawa, Jan-Kasa, Rikoka District, Igabi LGA, Kaduna State against EL- 044694 belonging to Prosperity Mining Investment Company Ltd 6 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded, on behalf of Gashin-Baki Awaiting response. Ajen Community, Ayu District, Sanga LGA, Kaduna State against EL-030879 belonging to Caliandre Ltd 7 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded, on behalf Pastor Obadiah Awaiting response. Yamusa of Tattaura Village, Sanga LGA, Kaduna State received via his solicitors, against Hahaibs Nigeria Ltd 8 Letter received from Anthony Akika & Co, the Solicitors of Chief Embaga Untreated Enjugu, Village Head of Assan-Angi, Lizzi Chiefdom, Eggon LGA, Nassarawa It falls under Nassarawa State against Tahir Global Services Ltd State. 9 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded on behalf of Ambam Awaiting response. Community of Jema’a LGA, Kaduna State, received via their solicitors, against Range Mining Ltd 10 Letter of ‘Disclaimer of Consent’ was forwarded on behalf of Mai Girma Awaiting response from Sarkin Maginga of Maginga District, Wara Yauri Emirate, Kebbi State who Against Amea Agro & confirm that only Tawaye Foreign Traders Ltd with EL-053751 are Mining Export Alliance Ltd legitimate consent holders. who’s Title no EL-033035 falls in the area. Table: 22 Letters received and treated by, North West Zonal Office, 2023

6.6.3 RESOLUTION(S) - As the awareness and Sensitization of the Zonal Offices has gotten wider in the Six (6) Geopolitical Zones, this signifies the milestone for the 67 <!-- page break --> Zonal Offices to improve on the aims and missions behind the establishment of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office. However, for even better progress: • We would like to suggest that the MCO decentralizes the processing of Revenue Receipts. The North West Zonal Office arguably receives the highest volume of Applications in all Six (6) geo-political Zones and as a result we believe it will be of great benefit if the MCO grants the North-West Zonal Office the privilege of generating Revenue Receipts for its Clients within its Zone, especially with consideration that it hosts at least Two (2) Accountants staff in the Zone. The ease of processing of Revenue receipts is a major challenge clients have commented on from our everyday interaction with clients during and after Receiving of their Applications. • The North West Zonal Office is also creating awareness to Investors to capitalise on the opportunity to be able to create their company profiles and submit/upload applications online by themselves. • To allow clients with applications at the North West Zone to be able to collect grants at the Zonal Office.

6.6.4 APPRECIATION On behalf of the Staff of the North-West Zonal Office, Kaduna; I thank the Director-General and Management who worked tirelessly for the transition and progress of the Zonal Offices thus far. 68 <!-- page break -->

7.0 HUMAN RESOURCE, FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS JOS ZONAL OFFICE The Department of Human Resource & Finance is one of the four (4) Departments in the Agency. The Department is divided into two (2) Divisions; Human Resource and Accounts. A. THE HUMAN RESOURCE DIVISION The Human Resource Division is saddled with the responsibilities of Appointment, Promotion and Discipline. The Division also handles staff welfare with respect to Health, Training, Sporting/Union activities, Pension and any other related matters as may be assigned by the authority.

7.1 APPOINTMENT: There was no recruitment of new staff in the year 2023 but the Office was able to secure from the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) the revalidation of waiver for Thirty-Nine (39) positions and another Twenty-Five (25) Nos. waiver to recruit new staff; ii. Secured Authorised Establishments of 169 positions for year 2023; iii. Secured additional/inclusion of over N40,000,000.00 in 2023 Personnel Budget to cater for the proposed 40 staff recruitment.

7.2 STAFF STRENGTH: Number of Staff at the Head Office is 125 and Number of Staff at the Zonal Office is 44. Total Staff strength is 169.

7.3 PROMOTION: MCO conducted promotion interview for Seventeen (17) Officers. Three other Officers were also converted from Technical to Officers cadre.

7.4 DISCIPLINE: No disciplinary action was taken against any staff in the year, 2023. 69 <!-- page break -->

7.5 POSTING/RETIREMENT: Three (3) number of Officers, were posted to MCO: (HR&F/Legal Department). The D(HR&F) Mr. Ladan Mustapha was posted out while Mr. Abraham Oloruntoba, DD(Admin) retired meritoriously from the service. Their repatriation allowances have been paid and the retirees were recognised and honoured by the Director General. We also lost a staff Director Concession Department - Ahmed Damagun.

7.6 SALARY/VARIATION/INCREAMENT: Salary variation and increment in respect of the staff promoted were respectively carried out. The staff salary for the Month of October, 2023 is still, yet to be paid.

7.7 STAFF WELFARE: Welfare of Staff members and other supporting staff were adequately taken care of throughout the year.

7.8 TRAINING: Majority of staff could not attend Training due to paucity of funds. However, the Management approved the participation on the Mandatory Training of Workforce Development, programme of Head of Civil Service of the Federation. The management also approved a number of study leave both local and international to boost the human capacity development of staff.

7.9 PENSION MATTERS: Pencom approved a Desk Officer for MCO, who will facilitate Pension administration of retirees. 70 <!-- page break -->

7.9.1 ANTI CORRUPTION TRANSPARENCY UNIT (ACTU): ICPC assigned a desk Officer for MCO to oversee the anti-corruption activities of the agency. The ICPC visited the Agency and ACTU assessment of the Office was conducted.

7.9.2 FACILITY MANAGEMENT: FUMIGATION: The Offices were fumigated twice in the year under review, in compliance with AEPB Act, 2010. Furthermore, the two (2) rusted galvanized waste bins were replaced with new ones. RENOVATION: Some renovation works were carried out, which gave room for the creation of more Offices in the main building. B. ACCOUNTS DIVISION The Accounts Division is saddled with the responsibilities of recording, analysis and reporting of financial transactions of the Office. The Division also ensures that all revenue generated by the Office is remitted on a monthly basis, to the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD) – Federation Account.

7.9.3 OPERATIONAL ACCOUNTS: The operational accounts of the Office are Capital, Recurrent (Overhead and Personnel) and Revenue; while budget releases concerning Capital and Overhead accounts, resides with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and can be accessed through GIFMIS. The administration of Personnel is the exclusive responsibility of Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS). All revenue (with the exception of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which is remitted to Federation Account (FA). Below is the analysis of all the releases, expenditure and revenue generated for the financial year 2023: 71 <!-- page break --> In 2023, the Office generated – N6.071b, the highest revenue generated by the Agency so far. 7.9.4 2023 BUDGET PERFORMANCE S/No. Budget Appropriation (₦) Releases (₦) Expenditure (₦) % of releases Items over appropriation 1 Personnel 180,180,894.57 180,180,794.58 180,180,606.58 99.99 2 Overhead 218,649,507.00 182,207,922.50 179,576,906.51 83.33 3 Capital 351,661,114.00 283,089,477.00 282,976,071.21 80.50 Total 750,491,515.58 645,478,194,08 642,733,584,30 86.01 Table 23: Budget performance

7.9.5 REVENUE GENERATION Below is the monthly summary of revenue generated in the year 2023: MONTH TOTAL January 253,909,500.00 February 228,256,000.00 March 306,807,500.00 April 566,538,000.00 May 2,086,684,600.00 June 430,203,500.00 July 430,021,500.00 August 327,169,100.00 September 308,663,500.00 October 307,617,400.00 November 471,169,861.00 December 354,223,000.00 Total 6,071,263,461.00 Table 24: Revenue generation 72 <!-- page break -->

7.9.6 LIABILITIES The total sum of Eighty-Three Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifteen Naira, Thirty-Seven Kobo (N83, 777, 315.37) for individuals and services not paid due to paucity of funds. 7.9.7 2023 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE (SUMMARY) S/No. Expenditure items Amount (₦) 1 Up-grade of the SIGTIM software to web-based/online 12,801,100.00 mineral Title administration and management 2 Modern E-record and archiving of Mineral Titles 14,802,750.00 Management system (Continuation) 3 Strategic Revenue recovery of Valid Mineral Titles, 15,910,000.00 Gazette of defaulters and revocation 4 International/Local Mining Conventions and 16,500,000.00 Exhibition 5 Beaconing of Mining Titles sites in selected areas in six 15,200,000.00 Geo-political zones in Nigeria 6 Renovation/Refurbishment of MCO HQ 9,986,982.50 building/Office 7 Thematic mapping of Mineral Title areas, restricted 26,030,000.00 and protected areas of Nigeria 8 Training and empowerment of youths & women in 19,374,452.00 Mining of Solid Mineral in Osun West 9 Creating awareness on economic prospect of Artisanal 47,719,250.00 Miners in Uyo Federal Constituency Akwa Ibom 10 Strategic training of youths & women in mining 19,975,560.00 communities in Funtua LGA of Katsina State 11 Installation of solar street lights in Tudun Iya Funtua 29,999,595.00 LGA of Katsina State 12 Supply and Installation of solar street lights in 29,950,575.00 Mararaba Musawa LGA Katsina State TOTAL 258,250,264.50 Table: 25 capital expenditure 73 <!-- page break -->

8.0 INTERNAL AUDIT UNIT The Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office Internal Audit reports for the preceding year. Internal audit duties are an act of verifying already prepared accounting records together with policies and procedures that governed the preparation of such records, in line with financial regulation chapter 17 (b), which states that Internal auditor is exclusively authorized to audit all prepaid vouchers, cashbooks, vote books, Treasury receipts booklet and offer advices where necessary. In the year under review, the Internal Audit Unit, successfully audited and submitted monthly accounting reports to the Director-General and the Office of Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF). 74 <!-- page break -->

9.0 PROCUREMENT UNIT

9.1 INTRODUCTION One of the most important functions of the Procurement Unit is to purchase goods, services or works from external sources. It plays a vital part in the Agencies’ overall business strategy, as it requires strategic planning to acquire goods or services, at the best possible cost. Total budget Appropriation for the year 2023 is N750,491,516.00 (Total Capital project is N 351,661,114.00 out of which N283,089,477.00 was released) (below is the list of all contract executed by the MCO in the 2023 financial Year). The Unit conducts need assessment of all Departments and Units in the Office, Market Survey and preparation of engineering measurement and evaluation and supervision and valuation of various capital project under 2023 appropriation. Advertisement was published in two national newspapers, namely Blueprint and Vanguard dated September 4 Monday 2023 and Federal Tenders journal newspaper for invitation to tender for 2023 capital competitive Bidding to the general public. Evaluation committee and Financial Committee were setup and also inaugurated by DG and Management Staff of MCO. Parastatal Tender Boards (PTB) consideration and approval was sought and approval was given for all Project under its threshold for the implementation under 2023 Capital Projects. Ratification of the Honourable Minister MMSD was sought and obtained for the implementation of the MCO’s Capital projects under the 2023 Financial Year. 75 <!-- page break --> Contract Award letters were issued to the Lowest most responsive evaluated Bidders. Project implementation was Monitored and execution was given a specific period for completion. CATEGORY A: WORKS LOTs PROJECT DESCRIPTION LOCATION MCO/CAP/23/006 Renovation/Refurbishment of MCO Abuja HQ Headquarter Building & Annex Office MCO/CAP/23/009 Installation of Solar Street Light in Tudun Iya Funtua LGA Funtua LGA Katsina State in Katsina State MCO/CAP/23/016 Supply and Installation of Solar Street Light in Musawa LGA Mararaba. Musawa LGA Katsina State. in Katsina State Table 26: Showing works CATEGORY B: GOODS & SUPPLIES LOTs PROJECT DESCRIPTION LOCATION MCO/CAP/23/008 Strategic Revenue Recovery of Valid Mineral Abuja HQ Titles Gazette of Defaulters and Revocation. MCO/CAP/23/011 Supply of Vehicles for Mining Surveillance in Nasarawa Nasarawa South Senatorial District of South Nasarawa State Table 27: Goods and Supplies CATEGORY C: CONSULTANCY SERVICES LOTs PROJECT DESCRIPTION LOCATION MCO/CAP/23/001 Upgrade of the SIGTIM software to Web Abuja HQ Based/Online Mineral Title Administration and Management MCO/CAP/23/002 Modern E-Record and E-Archiving of Abuja HQ Mineral Title Management System MCO/CAP/23/004 Beaconing of Mineral Sites in selected Nationwide areas in six geo political zones 76 <!-- page break --> MCO/CAP/23/005 Geo Data Report Updating from 36 state Nationwide and FCT Abuja MCO/CAP/23/007 Thematic Mapping of Mineral Title Areas, Nationwide Restricted and Protected Areas in Nigeria MCO/CAP/23/010 Strategic training of Youth and Women in Funtua LGA, Mining Communities in Funtua Local Katsina State Government of Katsina MCO/CAP/23/011 Stakeholders Sensitization on the Funtua/Dandum Prevention of Drug Abuse in Funtua/ LGA, of Kastina Dandum Constituency. State MCO/CAP/23/013 Training and Empowerment of Youth and Osun West Women in Mining of Mineral in Osun West Senatorial Senatorial District of Osun State District of Osun State. MCO/CAP/23/014 Up scaling and Advocacy of Limestone Afikpo North Mining Business in Afikpo North LGA LGA in Ebonyi Ebonyi State Stata MCO/CAP/23/015 Creating Awareness on the Economic Uyo, Akwa Ibom prospect of Artisanal and Small-scale Kaolin Mining in Uyo Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State Table 28: Consultancy services 77 <!-- page break -->

10.0 LEGAL SERVICES UNIT

10.1 INTRODUCTION The Legal Unit is responsible for representing the Agency in various courts of competent jurisdictions and conducts the Legal check of documents in support of Mineral title applications; e.g., Certificate of Incorporation Form; CAC 2, CAC 7; Attestation, Tax clearance, keeping of the Beneficial Ownership register; amongst others. Other duties of the Unit involve; Preparation of Contract Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as the case may be, proffering Legal Advisory services in accordance with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and its Regulations, Certification of Mineral Titles and responding to Due Diligence/Search upon the payment of the prescribed fees, attending meetings and any other duties as may be assigned by the Director-General. In the year 2023, the Unit represented and successfully defend the Office in all Litigations instituted against it, mostly as Defendant/Respondent, as the case may be.

10.2 LIST OF CASES, 2023 Below is a list of the ongoing cases that the Unit is actively engaged in. S/N SUIT NO. PARTIES JUDICIAL MINERAL STATUS DIVISION TITLE NUMBER 1. FHC/AWK/CS/011/20 OLD AGUATA BEACH LANDLORDS AWKA ONGOING 10 & WORKERS MULTIPURPOSE CO OPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD V. MCO & 4ORS 2. FHC/AB/CS/2020 SALIMOT OLATOKE OYEWOLE & ABEOKUT 29633 SSML ONGOING CO VS EMMANUEL ORANAIYE & A 31951 SSML CO 29760 SSML 78 <!-- page break --> 3. FHC/B/CS/74/2016 DANGOTE INDUSTRIES & ORS VS BENIN 18912 ML BUA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED & CITY 18913 ML ONGOING ORS 4. FHC/B/7/2016 BUA INTERNATIONAL VS BENIN 18912 ML ONGOING HONOURABLE MINISTER MMSD CITY & 15ORS 18913 ML 5. FHC/ABJ/CS/77/2021 ABASA NIGERIA ENTERPRISES ABUJA 17926 ML ONGOING LIMITED VS THE MINISTRY OF 17927 ML MINES AND STEEL 15454 EL DEVELOPMENT & 4ORS 14265 EL 1541 EL 20505 EL 6. FHC/ABJ/CS/60/2017 EL GADO WORLD WIDE LTD VS. ABUJA 11541 QL ONGOING MCO 7. FHC/ABJ/CS/530/201 BENUE MINERAL LTD VS MCO & ABUJA 103329 EL ONGOING 9 MMSD 9949 EL 10102 EL 10101 EL 8. FHC/ABJ/CS/1787/20 ABASA NIGERIA ENTERPRISES ABUJA 27126 ONGOING 22 LIMITED VS HON. MINISTER OF 20516 MMSD & 2ORS 9. SC/CV/323/2020 1 GEOTESS NIGERIA LTD V. MCO & ABUJA ONGOING 0 2ORS 10. FHC/ABJ/CS/964/201 DANGOTE INDUSTRIES LTD & ABUJA ONGOING 6 ANOTHER & ATTORNEY GENERAL OF OGUN STATE & 2ORS 11. FHC/ABJ/CS/412/201 ABASA NIG ENTERPRISES LTD & ABUJA 20525 EL ONGOING 8 HON. MINISTER OF MMSD & 2ORS 12. FHC/PH/CS/37/2018 RENNINGTON INDUSTRIES LTD CALABAR ONGOING VS FED. MMSD & ORS 13. FHC/B/CS/68/2020 CAS GLOBAL SOLUTION LIMITED BENIN 21747 QL ONGOING VS. BUA INTERNATIONAL CITY LIMITED 14. FHC/ABJ/CS/513/202 OGBONNA IGWE & 3ORS VS ONGOING 0 MMSD 15. FHC/ABJCS/451/2020 CRUSHED ROCK INDUSTRIES VS ABUJA ONGOING MMSD 16. FHC/ABJ/CS/76/2021 ETA-ZUMA GROUP WEST AFRICA ABUJA 20522 EL ONGOING VS. MMSD & ORS 79 <!-- page break --> 17. FHC/KG/CS/25/2017 PRINCE MAHMOUD SANNI ATTA LOKOJA 2541 ML ONGOING & 1 OR VS. AICO ADO IBRAHIM & COMPANY LTD & 4 ORS 18. FHC/ABJ/CS/1712/20 CONSOLIDATED TIN MINES LTD V. ABUJA ONGOING 22 MINISTER FOR MINES AND STEEL DEVELOPMENT & 1 OR 19. H/CS/180/2023 IFETAYO OADA OLUSANYA & 1 SHAGAM ONGOING OR V. DG MINING CADASTRE U OFFICE & 4 ORS 20. FHC/ABJ/CS/35/2021 WONDERCHILD LTD VS MCO ABUJA ONGOING 21. FHC/ABJ/CS/385/202 IGWEAJA PIUS OGBONNA VS ABUJA ONGOING 1 ZOTMANN MINING NIGERIA LTD 22. FHC/ABJ/320/2021 SANDPLEX INTERNATIONAL VS ABUJA 31984 QL ONGOING HON MINISTER 23. FHC/ABJ/CS/391/202 ALH ZAKARI MOHAMMED ABUJA 29412 EL ONGOING 1 (Dallatun Bahar) & ORS VS MCO 900 SSML 901 SSML 9958 SSML 24. FHC/J/CS/31/2021 MINING TECH CO. VS MCO & ORS JOS ONGOING 25. FHC/AI/CS/24/2013 BIANCORP VENTURES COMPANY ABAKALIK 17196 ML ONGOING LTD & 1 OR VS JETZ MINING I COMPANY LTD & 4 ORS 26. FHC/ABJ/CS/2023/20 ELIPERMANENT SECRETARYE ABUJA 30304 EL ONGOING 22 INDUSTRIES LTD VS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL MINING CADASTRE OFFICE 27. FHC/ABJ/CS/559/202 TAKUSHARA MINING V& 4ORS V ABUJA 29697 SSML ONGOING 3 MCO 28. FHC/ABJ/1955/2022 GEXPAM NIGERIA LIMITED V. ABUJA 10977 ML ONGOING HON MINISTER MINES AND STEEL 1672 EL FEVELOPMENT & 3 ORS 29. FHC/ABJ/CS/173/202 TAURUS MINING CO.LTD V. ABUJA 17671 QL ONGOING 3 OUTBOUND DEVELOPERS LTD & 6 ORS 30. FHC/KD/CS/94/2023 ANDREW SHEK V. RANGE MINING KADUNA 25241 EL ONGOING LTD MCO 40532 ML 40533 80 <!-- page break --> 31. FHC/AB/CS/79/23 HIGH CHIEF NOBIRU ADEYEMI ABEOKUT ONGOING AWOYADE & 3 ORS V. PRORICH A CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LTD & 2 ORS 32. FHC/ABJ/CS/654/201 OBYE MINERALOGY ABUJA 2877 EL ONGOING 3 9301 EL 33 ARBITRATION ABASA NIG ENTERPRISE LTD ABUJA 20516 EL ONGOING 27126 QL 34 FHC/KN/CS/416/2023 SA’AB QUARRY & INVESTMENT KANO 27485 EL ONGOING LIMITED & ANOR V MINISTER FOR MINES & STEEL 35 FHC/UM/CS/144/202 JINLOYS NIG LTD V MIN OF SOLID UMUAHIA ONGOING 3 MINERALS & 4ORS 36 FHC/KN/CS/344/2023 TURKISH CONSTRUCTION LTD V KANO ONGOING MCO & ORS 37 FHC/ABJ/CS/1497 AGRA MINERALS LT V. MINING ABUJA 4376 EL ONGOING CADASTRE OFFICE & 3 ORS 38 FHC/ABJ/CS/832/202 ONUS CHRISTOPHER ONU & CO V ABUJA ONGOING 3 MINISTER FMMSD & 3ORS 39 FHC/KD/CS/114/2023 ELDER SUNDAY ALAO & 6ORS V KADUNA ONGOING BASIN MINING 2ORS 40 FHC/ABJ/CS/29/2022 MBADIWE OSSAI MULTIPURPOSE ASABA 33302 ONGOING COOPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED 41 FHC/LF/CS/31/2018 MULTIVERSE MINING V NADABO LAFIA ONGOING LEAD ZINC & MCO Table 29: List of Legal Cases 81 <!-- page break -->

11.0 PRESS UNIT

11.1 INTRODUCTION The Press Unit of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (NMCO) headed by Assistant Director (AD, Press) and assisted by Senior Information Officer (SIO). The Unit is saddled with the responsibility of providing media and publicity services for its principal. It brings to the public domain the programmes and activities of the Agency and further manages the relationship between the Agency, the local and the international media. The Unit, in line with performing the roles mentioned above, has carried out the following activities in the year 2023: i. Participation of the DG, Engr. O. S Nkom at the 63rd Session of the State House Briefing which took place on Thursday, 19th January, 2023 at the State House Press Gallery. ii. Production and display of official photographs of the President and Honourable Minister at the Headquarters and Zonal Offices. iii. The Permanent Secretary (MMSD), Dr. Mary A. Ogbe’s familiarization tour to MCO on 11th July, 2023. iv. The Unit actively participated at the 8th Nigerian Mining Week held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja from 16th to 18th of October, 2023. v. The Minister, Dr. Dele Alake’s working visit to MCO on Tuesday, 21st November, 2023. 82 <!-- page break --> vi. Awards given to the Agency as well as awards honouring the Director- General such as the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Nigeria Internet Registration Association amongst, others were publicized. vii. MCO informative app (ongoing) – (for the Front Desk) the developer has been updated on the changes in the Ministry and sent the Minister’s portrait for necessary changes. viii. A compilation on press releases, reportage and activities involving the Director-General, Engr. O. S Nkom and the Agency for 2023 is ongoing. ix. The Unit organized publicity and media relations for all the events above within and outside the Agency.

11.2 DOCUMENTARIES: The Unit supervised production of the following documentary and monitored special interviews on the Agency i. MCO: Documentary: “The Journey So Far” by Amoi Productions was aired on NTA News 24 on Thursday, 19th January, 2023 by 8.30pm. ii. ON THE SPOT: The NTA programme featured DG MCO, Engr. O.S Nkom on 11th August, 2023 iii. SECURITY SCOPE: Insecurity in the Mining Sector aired on AIT featuring the Director-General on 21st August, 2023.

11.3 UNIT CONSTRAINT The Unit wishes to state its commitment to protecting the interest of the Agency on all media fronts. It should be noted that the agency Photographer, Mr. Francis Kanwai has been posted to the State House. 83 <!-- page break -->

12.0 INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) UNIT The ICT Unit is the Hub of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, right from the establishment of the Agency. The Unit has been a technical service unit ensuring the smooth flow of work.

12.1 SOME OF THE FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY THE UNIT INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED TO: a. Maintenance of computer system and other electronic devices b. Expanding means of communication: phone, email, video conferencing, social media c. Data collection and management d. Customer Relations Management/Dissemination of Information e. Improvement of Processes f. Network installation, configuration, management g. Software installation, configuration, management h. Hardware installation, maintenance, management, troubleshoot/repair i. Server/database administration and control j. Web resources/content management such as the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office website, webmail, eMC+ k. Social media platform management such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. 84 <!-- page break -->

12.2 THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES WERE CARRIED OUT BY THE ICT UNIT IN THE YEAR 2023: i. REDESIGNING OF THE MCO WEBSITE The ICT Unit supervised the redesign of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office official website, which is now completed and currently up and running. The website is being managed and updated with the latest events in the Office by the unit, along with social media accounts. ii. INSTALLATION OF COMPUTERS AND PRINTERS New computers where installed in Accounts units, and also new Multi- Functional Printers (MFP’s), were installed in some Offices. This is to ensure best quality print production that will aid, the smooth running of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office since printing is an integral part of the Office daily process. However, there is urgent need to procure more computer systems, printers, toners and computer accessories to meet up with the current demand of the Office. iii. eMC+ MAINTENANCE UPGRADE In collaboration with GAF AG Consultant Company, MinDiver and the MCO, ICT successfully had a maintenance period review with GAF AG representative to perform an in-house review of the eMC+ system in order to get the new functional requirements to include in the new update. During and after these maintenance period, observations were made by the stakeholders and staff and these were relayed back to GAF AG for implementations. This update is currently ongoing and is being rolled out periodically. The ICT Unit also identified bugs on the eMC+ and fixed it. 85 <!-- page break --> iv. BANDWIDTH We have successfully increased our bandwidth from 20MbPermanent Secretary to 40MbPermanent Secretary at the Headquarters and also currently working on that of the Zonal Offices. The aspect of system downtime or slow connectivity has been relatively reduced. v. DATA CLEANING EXERCISE Through the year, ICT has been actively involved in the process of data cleaning and synchronization to ensure the MCO database is free from anomalies, errors and inconsistencies during the use of the eMC+ system. vi. POST-LAUNCHING OF EMC+ FOR ONLINE CADASTRE SYSTEM The ICT Unit ensured the smooth running of the eMC+ by participating actively in the entire process of staff user account creation, configuration, error troubleshooting and reporting. vii. PUBLIC USER ACCOUNT REGISTRATION After the successful launch of the eMC+ system, the ICT Unit has been receiving a lot of requests for user accounts registration from public users both online via email and as well physical walk-in into the Office. viii. CORRESPONDENCE WITH GAF AG CONSULTANT COMPANY The ICT Unit has been actively communicating with the GAF AG concerning observations made on the use of the eMC+ and to ensure a proper configuration and integration of services required. In the events of server downtime, they assisted in restoring normalcy to the system by walking the system administrators 86 <!-- page break --> through the process. They also collaborated with Layer3 for the smooth running of the system. ix. REPLACEMENT OF INVERTER BATTERIES AND SOLAR PANELS The Unit supervised the replacement of inverter batteries and damaged solar panels by MinDiver and also the purchase of two new inverters, to replace the old ones. x. INSTALLATION OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE The Unit carried out installation of some computers, printers, software, Microsoft Windows OS & Office, network switches, access points etc., in some Departments and Units. The unit also carried out maintenance and repair of some computer systems in some Units and Departments. xi. COLLABORATION BETWEEN MCO, LAYER3 AND GALAXY BACKBONE CONNECTIVITY TO PROVIDE BACKUP (FAILOVER) SERVER. MCO is currently working out modality with Galaxy Backbone and Layer3 to provide a secondary host. This is currently on-going. xii. Other duties as assigned by the Director-General 87 <!-- page break -->

13.0 RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY UNIT The Research, Development and Sustainability Unit, is a strategic component of the Office, established to increase/enhance the capacity of the Office, through creative and systematic work processes, guided by sustainability principles within the scope and limitations of the mandate, of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office.

13.1 PURPOSE OF THE UNIT: Following through, with the vision of the Mining Cadastre Office; provides an independent, efficient and transparent Mining Cadastre system, which grants and administers Mining Licenses and Permits in accordance with best international practices, the Unit: 1. Research – Mining Cadastre systems in line with best international practices, 2. Develop strategy and initiatives based on research, 3. Sustainability – Improve organizational performance while creating social, economic and environmental values, via research and development for the benefit of leadership, management and the entire workforce of the Cadastre to make the organization resilient, using human capacity development tools training opportunities and resources.

13.2 THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNIT ARE AS FOLLOWS: i. Development/Production of communication materials – Reports and Presentations. ii. Monthly collation of data from all departments for production of updated records on the status of Mineral Titles and Applications. 88 <!-- page break --> iii. Strategic communication with the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, other Government Organizations, Civil Society Organizations and the Private sector through letters and emails. iv. Representation in events such as conferences, seminars, workshops and webinars. v. Strategic Information Management with Zonal Offices with respect to the mandate of the Office - updating Zonal Offices with monthly Signed Licenses for onward transmission to Federal Mines Officers. vi. Support in the development of strategic goals of the Office – Development of short- and long-term goals. vii. Initiation of in-house eMC+ training. viii. Comparative analysis of minerals in the MCO database and the Mineral Map of NGSA ix. Provision of different filters of MCO data on demand by different organizations including; Government, NGO’s, Individuals, Academia, Investors or Mineral Title Holders etc. x. Mandatory orientation of RDS Team. xi. Reviewing of MCO past record on Mineral Title Applications received; from the Priority Register and comparison to the SIGTIM database to provide updated database. xii. Collating data cleaning exercise and attending to queries on geometric amendment. xiii. Development of data for MCO Mineral Title Inventory xiv. Conceptualizing and supervising MCO Pavilion during the Nigeria Mining Week and other conferences. 89 <!-- page break --> xv. Conceptualizing MCO sensitization programms xvi. Communication with GAF and MinDiver

13.3 ONGOING RESEARCH i. Nigeria and Future Minerals. ii. The status of the Mining Industry Globally iii. Enquiries and Crisis/Dispute Management iv. Waste paper management and audit v. The Use of Air Conditioning System, its impact on human health and the environment - Advantages and Disadvantages 90 <!-- page break -->

14.0 PROTOCOL UNIT

14.1 INTRODUCTION The Mining Cadastre Office in carrying out its statutory functions of administration and management of mineral/mining rights in the country, attends some important local and international mining conferences; as part of the Honourable Minister’s Team on investment promotion.

14.2 FUNCTIONS The protocol units has its statutory functions i.e responsibilities for visa processing of the Chief Executive and Officers of the agency, participating at the official trips, liaisingwith Ministry for processing of note verbal at the Foreign Affairs and Embassy etc, seeing off and receiving the Chief Executive at the airport when travelling for official engagement, both local and foreign trips determination of protocol procedures and any other duties that may be assigned from time to time by the Chief Executive.

14.3 ACTIVITIES/EVENTS Some of the international mining events the Office attends every year are as tabulated below: S/N EVENT DATE DURATION 1. Future Mineral Summit – Riyadh, Saudi January 5 Arabia 2. Investing in African Mining Indaba, February, 6 Cape Town, South Africa 3. Prospector and Developers March 7 Association of Canand (PDAC) 4. Africa Down Under Conference Perth, September 7 Australia 91 <!-- page break --> 5. Tianjing Mining Conference, China October 6 6. Dubai International Mining Oct/Nov 5 Conference and Exhibition 7. London Mines and Money Nov/Dec 4 International Conference 8. Regional Mineral Cadastre System Between March – 5 Regional Group Meeting rotated August amongst the ECOWAS countries Table 30: Some international mining events the Office attended in 2023 92 <!-- page break -->

15.0 CHALLENGES OF THE OFFICE The challenges experienced in the operations of the MCO (both Headquarters and Zonal Offices) includes but not limited to the followings: FINANCE: - Budgetary constraints as regards running costs of the Head Quarters and Zonal Offices (vehicle maintenance, communication, water & other bills etc). HUMAN RESOURCE: - Under-staffing of the Headquarters and Zonal Offices Delay in receiving reports from Mines Inspectorate to facilitate renewal applications of Mineral titles. OPERATIONAL RESOURCE: - Poor logistical support in mobility and field equipment. Insufficient work tools such as file jackets and other stationaries for adequate filing of application documents. Disruption of workflow on eMC+ due to inadequate internet bandwidth. Insufficient computers (desktop/laptops) and printing machines. Inadequate space for filling-cabinets. Inadequate proper civic amenities and facilities Housing the power-generating set in some Zonal Offices Water supply and storage in some Zonal Offices Fortifying the Offices’ burglary proofs in some Zonal Offices Lack of Revenue receipt at the Zonal Offices Lack of still and video camera, drone camera and midgets 93 <!-- page break -->

16.0 RECOMMENDATIONS Below is a list of approach to proffer solutions to the challenges listed above: 1. Increased funding for the Office. 2. Capacity building of staff. 3. Employment of more technical staff. 4. Modernization of filling-cabinets, to suite the available space. 5. Increase internet bandwidth. 6. Provision of dedicated communication lines for communication with Mineral Title holders. 7. More Office space. 94 <!-- page break -->

17.0 CONCLUSION The Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office aligned its mandate delivery, to ensure implementation of the following Sustainable Development Goals, in line with the Strategic Direction of the organization: • Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing of Human system for efficiency in sustained performance. • Goal 7: Affordable and clean Energy projects with focus on device energy consumption while in use and human usage culture. • Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth – Job creation via Establishment of the Zonal Offices and increased Revenue generation • Goal 13: Climate Action - Deployment of eMC+ ensures less paper, less CO2 emission, creatively creating a performance boosting balance for all stakeholders through the innovation of our mandate delivery models. • Goal 17: Partnerships – Ensuring transparency by collaborating with organizations such as NEITI, NFIU, NCSDC, NGSA, MID, MEC etc. Relationship with our stakeholders and mining community via sensitization, continuous research, development and sustainability model implementation to keep the organization beneficial and optimal in the delivery of it’s mandate. 95 <!-- page break --> The Agency has in the course of discharging its statutory responsibilities as provided by section 5 (1) of the NMMA 2007 made the following modest achievements in the year 2023. i. 2023 NIRA.ng Presidential Awards. ii. Nigeria GovTech Public Service Award: Best Federal MDA in “Citizen-Centric Online Service” awarded by Bureau of Public Service Reforms – The Presidency, 2023. iii. 2022 NIRA.ng Award Winner as Best Agency Digital Innovation in Federal Government. iv. Completion of e-Recording and Archiving of Mineral Title documents now ready for Integration in the eMC+ online system. v. Acquisition, Geo-referencing and Geocoding of Topographic Maps of Nigeria for integration into the Mining Cadastre Digital Database. vi. Production of Thematic Mapping of Mineral Title Restricted (Protected) Areas in Nigeria Mining Cadastre for integration into the MCO Digital Database. vii. Exponential increase in Mineral Title Application submission by investors in the mining sector. viii. Organizational Growth - Establishment, and operationalization of MCO Offices in the Six Geo-Political Zones of the Country. ix. Participation in Numerous Local and International Mining Conferences such as London Mines and Money, Australia Down Under, Prospectors and 96 <!-- page break --> Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), Investing in African Mining Indaba, Capetown – South Africa etc. Participation in these conferences has served as a dependable platform for attracting foreign investment to the Mining Sector. x. Recorded major progress in the upgrade of the cadastre system and currently anticipating the phase II maintenance period. xi. Sustained the use of the eMC+ system. xii. Issuance of Mineral Titles. xiii. Approved the transfer of Mineral Titles to different holders. xiv. Approved the renewal of different Mineral Titles. xv. Approved and endorsed other types of modifications. xvi. Resolved several conflicts arising from consents and concession areas. xvii. Generated N6.07billion in revenue. 97 <!-- page break --> PHOTO GALLERY OF MCO YEAR 2023 ACTIVITIES Cross section of the NMGS, Abuja Chapter EXCO DG- MCO, Engr. O. S Nkom, DG - NGSA Dr. Rasak and other paying Courtesy Visit on the the Director General, participants at the MMSD Ministerial Retreat held at the Engr. O. S Nkom on his reappointment as the DG of Best Western Plus Hotel, Ibadan, Oyo State from the NMCO on Tuesday, 17th January, 2023 Wednesday 25th - Friday, 27th January, 2023 DG- NMCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom having eMC+ Cross section of NMCO Management and Members of side Business Talk with Mr. Thomas Weissmann and Dr. NMGS, Abuja Chapter participating at the NMGS Tobias Wever of GAF AG at Indaba Conference, Cape Seminars at the NMCO Conference Room on Tuesday, Town, South Africa on Wednesday, 8th February, 2023 21st February, 2023 HM-MMSD, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite with his DG- MCO, Engr. O.S. Nkom making presentation at Team; DG- NMCO, Engr. O. S Nkom; DG NGSA, Dr. Nigeria Day @PDAC Mining Conference in Toronto, Rasaq Garba; PC- MinDiver, Engr. Salim; HM - SSA Canada on Tuesday, 7th March, 2023 (Technical) Mr. Olu Adedayo and other VIP Delegates at PDAC International Mining Conference in Toronto, Canada on Monday, 6th March, 2023 98 <!-- page break --> Cross section of attendees at the World Bank Task Team Director General- NMCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom working visit to Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (NMCO), DG- looking on while Senator Umar Tanko Al- Makura sign NMCO, Engr. O. S Nkom, TTL, Dr. Martin Lokanc with the Guest Register after a brief Courtesy Visit on MinDiver Team and NMCO Management Staff at NMCO Wednesday 19th April, 2023 Conference Room on Wednesday, 22nd March, 2023 Staff at NMCO Conference Room on Wednesday, 22nd International Mining Conference in Toronto, Canada on March, 2023 Monday, 6th March, 2023 International Mining Conference in Toronto, Canada on Monday, 6th March, 2023 DG - NMCO, Engr.Obadiah Simon Nkom in a chat in his Cross section of staff at the One Day Review for Development office with ICPC Team after the meeting on the 2023 (R4D) Retreat by the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office with the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Score Card of NMCO on theme: "Repositioning MCO Through Attitude Transformation 20th Thursday April 2023 for Improved Productivity" holding at Bon Hotel Elvis, on Wednesday 3rd May 2023 Staff at NMCO Conference Room on Wednesday, 22nd March, 2023 International Mining Conference in Toronto, Canada on Monday, 6th March, 2023 DG- MCO, Engr. O. S Nkom receiving his award 'as the DG -MCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom (m) received in his Most Outstanding DG in the Mining Sector' from Office a Delegation of African Union Members on Courtesy Director HR & A, Ladan Almustapha who represented Visit to MCO led by the AU Team Leader Dr.(Ms) Marit Kitaw- him at the NUJ- FRCN Abuja Operations Chapel during Ethiopia (2nd L); Tunde Arisekola-Nigeria (1st L); Mkhululi its Press Week held at the National Press Centre, Area Ncube- Zimbabwe (2nd R) and Adil Mustapha- Morocco (1st 10, Abuja on Wednesday, 10th May, 2023 R) on Thursday, 11th May, 2023 Staff at NMCO Conference Room on Wednesday, 22nd Staff at NMCO Conference Room on Wednesday, 22nd March, 2023 99 March, 2023 International Mining Conference in Toronto, Canada on International Mining Conference in Toronto, Canada on Monday, 6th March, 2023 Monday, 6th March, 2023 <!-- page break --> The Honourable Minister, Solid Minerals, Mr. Oladele Alake in handshake with DG MCO, Engr. O. S Nkom at Group Photograph: HM, MSMD, Oladele Alake and Vip the Welcome Ceremony held by MMSD for the Minister Delegates from Nigeria; PS, MSMD, Dr Mary Ogbe; DG, on Monday, 21st August, 2023 MCO, Engr. Obadiah Simon Nkom and other Delegates at the ongoing African Down Under Conference holding in Perth Australia. HE, Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, HM- DG-MCO, Engr, O.S Nkom and MCO Management Staff with 2 MSMD, DR. Oladele Alake, PS-MSMD, Dr. Mary Ogbe, Dg- in 1 Award recognizing the DG as Distinguished Gov Tech Trail MCO, Engr Obadiah Simon Nkom, HRH Ibrahim Usman Jubrin Blazer and MCO as Best Federal in Citizen Centric Online and Officials of Ganfeng Ltd at the groundbreaking ceremony Service by Bureau of Public Service Reforms on Friday, 23th of Ganfeng Lithium Industry Limited held on Thursday 12th October, 2023. October, 2023 at Nasarawa State DG-MCO, Engr. O.S Nkom withGM, AG Vision DG-MCO, Engr Obadiah Simon Nkom at the Mining, Mr. Fadi Ghazale and another participant at Forum for Geoscience Cooperation and Mining the just concluded Nigeria Mining week, held at ICC, Investment holding at China Mining Conference Abuja from Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th in Tianjin, China on Thursday, 26th October 2023 October, 2023 October, 2023 100 <!-- page break --> Hon Minister,MMSD Mr. Oladele Alake,PS, MSMD, Dr. China Forum: 4th Left: The Permanent Secretary, Ministry Mary Ogbe, DG-MCO, Engr. O.S NKOM and ES, SMDF, of Solid Minerals Development. Dr Mary A. Ogbe, 2nd left: Hajiya FatimaShinkafi at the Mines and Money DG- MCO, Engr O.S Nkom; 3rd right: DG-NGSA Dr, Rasaq Conference holding at the Business Design Centre, Garba with other delegates and Chinese investors at the London on Tuesday, 28th November, 2023.October, China Mining Forum Holding in Tianjin, China on 2023 Thursday, 26th October 2023 October, 2023 101 <!-- page break -->