Federal Government of Nigeria has defended its decision to revoke the mining licences of Basin Mining Limited, saying the action was based strictly on the company’s failure to meet statutory obligations and not to favour Chinese investors.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made the clarification in a statement issued on Sunday by his spokesperson, Kehinde Bamigbetan, in Abuja.
According to the ministry, Basin Mining Limited’s licences were revoked after the company failed to pay statutory annual service fees amounting to N1.223 billion in 2024. The outstanding liability later increased to about N2.494 billion before the licences were eventually cancelled.
Bamigbetan said the revocation complied with Nigerian mining laws and had nothing to do with the nationality of any investor. He also dismissed allegations that Alake was handing Nigeria’s mineral resources to Chinese interests, describing the claims as false, misleading and part of a campaign to undermine reforms in the mining sector.
The spokesperson further disclosed that British-Australian firm Jupiter, though not the holder of the revoked licences, had instituted arbitration proceedings against the Federal Government, alleging a breach of the Nigeria-United Kingdom Bilateral Investment Treaty.
He alleged that the company had also launched media campaigns and cyber attacks against the minister in a bid to pressure the government into reversing the revocation.
Responding to claims that Alake favours Chinese investors, Bamigbetan said the minister had visited China only twice in the last three years—once as part of President Bola Tinubu’s delegation on a state visit and later at the invitation of the Chinese government for China Mining Week 2025.
He noted that Alake had attended more mining investment conferences in Western countries, including three editions each of the London Mines and Money Conference and Mining Indaba in South Africa, as well as two official investment visits to Australia.
Bamigbetan added that Nigeria’s policy of opening the mining sector to foreign investment predates the current administration, tracing it to the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act and the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1995.
He said the current administration’s reforms focus on enforcing compliance with mining regulations and promoting local value addition by requiring investors to process minerals within Nigeria before export.
According to him, several Chinese firms have responded by establishing mineral processing plants in Nigeria, while some licence holders failed to develop their mining assets despite having the opportunity to do so. He also highlighted Nigeria’s longstanding mining cooperation with China, including geological mapping, mineral exploration and technical partnerships dating back to 2011.
Bamigbetan said President Tinubu’s 2024 state visit to China, during which more than 20 bilateral agreements were signed, further strengthened investment ties between both countries. He maintained that contrary to claims that Western investors were being sidelined, more than 300 companies from Europe, North America, Canada and Australia are actively operating in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
He added that the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency continues to collaborate with French and German institutions on geological data development, while the World Bank supported the development of the new Solid Minerals Sector Roadmap.
Bamigbetan said reforms introduced by Alake, including the establishment of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, deployment of Mining Marshals, stricter enforcement of mining laws and the commissioning of mineral processing plants, were already yielding measurable results.
He stressed that the Federal Government would not reverse the revocation of mining licences belonging to companies that failed to comply with Nigerian laws, regardless of media campaigns against the minister.
