Nigeria’s revenue collection authorities have turned their attention squarely onto the solid minerals and mining sector, making it the primary target of renewed compliance and enforcement efforts.
The sector, long overshadowed by petroleum, has seen increased activity in recent years as the Federal Government pushes for economic diversification. With that growth has come heightened scrutiny from tax officials, who believe significant revenue is being lost to undeclared transactions, informal trading networks, and underreporting by licensed operators.
Under the latest enforcement wave, mining operators and solid mineral traders are being required to regularise their tax status, register with the appropriate authorities, and provide transparent records of their financial dealings. The focus extends across the value chain — from artisanal miners and buying agents to large-scale exploration companies and export intermediaries.
Authorities have flagged several compliance gaps that make the mining sector especially vulnerable to revenue leakage. These include the prevalence of cash-based transactions, the mobility of mining sites, weak supply chain documentation, and the difficulty of tracking mineral movements across state borders. Many traders operate without formal business registration, placing them entirely beyond the reach of existing tax frameworks.
The government’s renewed interest in the solid minerals sector comes at a time when oil revenue remains volatile and the need to broaden the tax base has become urgent. Nigeria is estimated to hold vast untapped deposits of gold, lithium, tin, limestone, lead, zinc, and other industrial minerals, and the fiscal authorities believe that the sector’s contribution to government coffers does not reflect its true economic potential.
Efforts to bring the sector into full tax compliance are expected to include data-sharing between the Mining Cadastre Office, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and state-level revenue agencies. The use of technology to track mineral extraction and movement is also being explored as a means of closing information gaps that have historically facilitated tax avoidance.
Industry stakeholders have acknowledged the need for better regulation but have also called for a balanced approach that does not stifle the largely informal artisanal mining segment, which provides livelihoods for millions of Nigerians across several states.
The message from the authorities, however, remains clear: mining and solid mineral traders can no longer expect to operate outside the tax system without consequence.
