Nigeria announces six-month deadline to ban exportation of raw solid minerals

The Nigerian government has declared a six-month deadline to ban the exportation of raw solid minerals as part of the country's reforms in the mining sector, Minister of Mines and Steel Development Kayode Fayemi said Thursday.

The minister, speaking at a summit held in the Nigerian capital Abuja, described the exportation of unprocessed solid minerals in the west African country as an act of "illegality."

"People are just shipping out raw minerals; this has informed the government's policy or decision to place a ban on unprocessed minerals," he said.

He explained that the government would encourage miners to invest in the sector by setting up processing plants in host communities to create jobs for the locals.

The enforcement of the ban, the official said, would not be done arbitrarily as the investors would be given time to establish their processing plants. Endit