Mineral Governance at State Level in Nigeria

Mineral Governance at State Level in Nigeria: A Critical Examination of Section 19 of the

Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 and the Role of MIREMCO

Introduction

Mining in Nigeria is constitutionally and statutorily regulated within a federal framework. While

mineral resources are vested in the Federal Government, mining operations inevitably affect

land, agriculture, forests, communities, local governments and the environment within

particular States.

Section 19 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 (“the Act”) responds to this

institutional reality by establishing the Mineral Resources and Environmental Management

Committee (MIREMCO) for each State of the Federation. The Committee is intended to provide

a mechanism through which federal, State and local interests can participate in the

management of the social, environmental and developmental consequences of mining.

MIREMCO is therefore an important, but sometimes overlooked, institution in Nigeria’s mining

governance framework.

1. Establishment of MIREMCO under Section 19

Section 19(1) provides:

“There is hereby established for each State of the Federation a Committee to be known as the

Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee.”

The significance of this provision lies in the fact that MIREMCO is created directly by statute. It is

not merely an administrative committee established at the discretion of the Minister.

Consequently, its existence and core functions derive from the Act itself.

This is particularly important in a sector where mining regulation involves several levels of

government. The Committee is designed to provide an institutional bridge between the Federal

Government, State Government, Local Government and communities affected by mining.

2. Composition: A Deliberately Multi-Stakeholder Institution. Section 19(2) provides for a broad

membership structure.

The Committee is chaired by a representative of the Mines Environmental Compliance

Department. Other members include representatives of:a. the State ministry responsible for land or mineral-related matters;

1. the Mines Officer responsible for the State;
2. the State Ministry of Agriculture or Forestry;
3. the State Surveyor-General;
4. the relevant Local Government Council where matters affecting that Local Government

Area are being considered;

1. the State environmental department or agency; and
2. the Federal Ministry of Environment in the State.

This composition is significant. MIREMCO is not intended to be simply another department of

the Federal Ministry of Mines. It is deliberately structured as a multi-agency forum.

Its membership recognises that mining can simultaneously affect: mineral development, land,

agriculture, environment, surveying, local government and communities. That is one of the

strongest features of section 19.

3. MIREMCO’s Core Functions

Section 19 gives the Committee a wide range of functions. Among other things, it is required to

consider matters relating to:

1. environmental protection;
2. sustainable management of mineral resources;
3. pollution and degradation of land on which minerals are extracted;
4. mineral-resource development within the State;
5. supervision of mineral exploitation;
6. social and environmental protection measures;
7. environmental protection programmes at community and local-government level;
8. interaction between mineral-title holders and State and local authorities;
9. conflicts between stakeholders; and
10. other matters referred to it by the Minister.

The Committee therefore has both a regulatory-advisory function and a conflict-management

function.

4. MIREMCO Is Not a Mineral Title Granting Authority

An important distinction must be made. The establishment of MIREMCO does not transfer the

Federal Government’s statutory authority over mineral titles to the States.The Act establishes the Mining Cadastre Office as the institution responsible for the

administration of mineral titles. MIREMCO does not grant Exploration Licences, Mining Leases,

Quarry Leases or other mineral titles. Its role is principally to advise, coordinate, facilitate and

assist in resolving environmental, social and stakeholder issues arising from mineral

development. This distinction is essential because the constitutional and statutory framework

governing mineral ownership and mineral-title administration remains federal. MIREMCO

should therefore not be interpreted as creating a parallel State mining-licensing regime.

5. The Federal–State Interface

Section 19 is particularly important because Nigeria’s mining industry operates within a federal

system.

The Federal Government controls mineral resources and mineral-title administration, while

State and Local Governments have legitimate interests in:

1. land use;
2. agriculture;
3. forestry;
4. environmental protection;
5. infrastructure;
6. local economic development; and
7. community welfare.

MIREMCO provides an institutional mechanism for bringing these interests into the federal

mining regulatory process. This is especially important because the absence of such

coordination can produce conflict between mineral-title holders and State or local authorities.

MIREMCO is therefore best understood as a federal–State coordination mechanism rather than

a transfer of mineral ownership or licensing powers to the States.

6. Environmental Protection as a Central Function

The environmental dimension of MIREMCO’s mandate is unsurprising given that the Committee

is chaired by the Mines Environmental Compliance Department.Section 18 of the Act gives the Mines Environmental Compliance Department responsibility for

monitoring and enforcing environmental obligations imposed on mineral-title holders and for

liaising with relevant government agencies on social and environmental issues, mine closure

and reclamation. Section 19 builds upon this framework by bringing State and local institutions

into the process. This is important because environmental consequences of mining are usually

experienced locally, even where the regulatory authority is federal. A polluted river, degraded

farmland or abandoned mine site is ultimately a local problem even though the mineral title

may have been issued by a federal authority. MIREMCO provides the institutional mechanism

for bringing those local consequences into the federal regulatory conversation.

7. Community Participation and Social Licence

One of the most valuable aspects of MIREMCO is its potential role in managing relations

between mining companies and host communities. The Committee is required to provide advice

and assistance to mineral-title holders in their interaction with:

1. State Governments;
2. Local Government Councils;
3. communities;
4. civil institutions; and
5. other stakeholders.

This function is increasingly important in modern mining governance. Internationally,

responsible mining is no longer measured solely by the existence of a valid mining licence.

Investors, lenders and international institutions increasingly consider:

1. community relations;
2. environmental performance;
3. social impact;
4. benefit sharing;
5. conflict management; and
6. mine closure.

MIREMCO therefore has the potential to serve as an important institutional mechanism for

developing the social licence to operate in Nigeria.8. MIREMCO and Community Development Agreements

The Committee’s role should also be considered alongside the Act’s requirements concerning

Community Development Agreements (CDAs). A mining operation does not exist in isolation

from the community in which it operates. CDA obligations are designed to establish a

framework for the relationship between the mineral-title holder and the host community.

MIREMCO’s advisory and coordination functions can therefore complement the CDA framework

by helping address disputes and ensuring that the interests of State and local stakeholders are

considered. The Committee should not, however, be confused with the contractual parties to a

CDA. Its role is regulatory and facilitative rather than substituting itself for the titleholder and

community.

9. Conflict Resolution: An Underappreciated Function

One of the most significant functions assigned to MIREMCO is advising the Minister on the

resolution of conflicts between stakeholders.

Mining disputes can involve:

1. mining companies and host communities;
2. mining companies and farmers;
3. mining companies and State agencies;
4. communities and Local Governments;
5. environmental agencies and mining operators; and
6. competing community interests.

A committee containing representatives from the relevant institutions is potentially better

positioned to understand these disputes than a single regulatory department. MIREMCO can

therefore serve as an early-warning and dispute-resolution mechanism, preventing relatively

small local disagreements from developing into serious operational conflicts.

10. MIREMCO and the 2011 Regulations

The importance of MIREMCO is reinforced by the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations

2011. The Regulations contain a specific provision—Regulation 163—on the State Mineral

Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO). The Regulations also place

MIREMCO within the wider environmental-management framework beginning with Regulation

154.This is significant because it demonstrates that MIREMCO was not intended to remain merely a

statutory concept. The Regulations provide further machinery for its operation within the

environmental-management regime. The broader Part V of the Regulations deals with matters

including environmental impact assessment, environmental auditing, compensation,

reclamation, rehabilitation, social concerns in mining communities and mine-waste

management. MIREMCO therefore sits at an important point where mining regulation,

environmental protection and community interests intersect.

11. The Problem of Institutional Effectiveness

The existence of MIREMCO in legislation does not automatically guarantee effective mining

governance.

A statutory committee is only as effective as:

1. the frequency of its meetings;
2. the quality of its technical information;
3. the commitment of participating agencies;
4. availability of funding;
5. clarity of its mandate;
6. cooperation between Federal and State authorities; and
7. implementation of its recommendations.

There have historically been concerns regarding the functionality and capacity of MIREMCOs in

several States. Government has itself described MIREMCO as a mechanism intended to create

synergy among Federal, State and Local Governments for sustainable mineral development and

has acknowledged the need to strengthen its operations. This raises a broader question: Is

MIREMCO sufficiently empowered to perform the functions assigned to it by section 19?

12. Advisory Power versus Regulatory Power

Perhaps the most important legal characteristic of MIREMCO is that many of its functions are

expressed in terms of “advice”. This means that MIREMCO should generally be regarded as an

advisory and coordinating institution rather than an independent licensing authority. Its

recommendations may be highly significant, particularly where they concern environmental or

community issues, but the Committee should not assume powers that the Act has expressly

vested in another institution. For example, MIREMCO cannot simply revoke a mineral title

because it considers a mining operation environmentally undesirable where the Act assigns the

revocation power elsewhere. Similarly, MIREMCO cannot grant a mineral title merely because it supports a particular mining project. The Committee must operate within the statutory

architecture established by the Act.

13. Why MIREMCO Matters to International Investors

For international mining investors, MIREMCO should not be viewed merely as another Nigerian

regulatory committee. It represents an important element of Nigeria’s stakeholder-governance

architecture. An investor entering a mining project must understand that obtaining a mineral

title is only one part of the regulatory process.

Successful operation may also depend upon relationships with:

1. Federal mining authorities;
2. State authorities;
3. Local Governments;
4. environmental agencies;
5. host communities; and
6. other stakeholders.

MIREMCO provides an institutional forum through which many of these relationships can be

managed. For responsible investors, this can be an advantage rather than an additional burden.

An effective MIREMCO can reduce uncertainty by bringing relevant stakeholders around one

table.

14. Towards a Stronger MIREMCO Framework

If Nigeria is to attract larger international investment into its mining sector, MIREMCO could play

a much greater role.

Three reforms would be particularly useful.

First: regular and transparent meetings. MIREMCO meetings and recommendations should be

properly documented, with appropriate public reporting on environmental and social matters.

Second: stronger technical capacity. Members should have access to environmental scientists,

mining engineers, land experts and community-development specialists.

Third: clearer relationship with other regulators. The respective responsibilities of MIREMCO,

the Mines Inspectorate Department, Mines Environmental Compliance Department, Mining

Cadastre Office and environmental agencies should be clearly coordinated. This would reduce

duplication and prevent conflicting regulatory directives.

Conclusion

Section 19 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 represents an important attempt to

reconcile Nigeria’s federal control of mineral resources with the local realities of mining.

MIREMCO is designed to bring together Federal, State and Local Government institutions in

addressing the environmental, social and developmental consequences of mining. Its functions

extend from environmental protection and sustainable resource management to stakeholder

engagement and conflict resolution.

Its greatest strength is also its greatest challenge. MIREMCO sits at the intersection of several

institutions and interests. It must therefore coordinate without unnecessarily duplicating the

functions of the Mining Cadastre Office, Mines Inspectorate Department, Mines Environmental

Compliance Department or environmental agencies. For Nigeria, the effectiveness of MIREMCO

has implications beyond administrative efficiency. A mining regime that protects mineral

investment but fails to manage community and environmental interests is unlikely to produce

sustainable mining development.

Section 19 provides the institutional foundation for addressing that problem. The challenge is to

ensure that MIREMCOs are not merely statutory committees on paper, but functioning

institutions capable of converting federal mining policy into responsible, environmentally

sustainable and socially legitimate mineral development at State and community level