Mining office to clamp down on impersonators to protect investors

The Mining Cadastre Office has warned that individuals impersonating it workers will face prosecution for deceiving and exploiting unsuspecting investors.

Speaking during a X space hosted by the office on Thursday, Obadiah Nkom, the director-general of MCO, said courtesy calls were made to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to combat the issue.

Nkom acknowledged the existence of legitimate consultants and company representatives while distinguishing them from impersonators.

However, the DG said the office will now “bite hard” by partnering with security agencies to conduct sting operations discreetly against impersonators.

On documents required to obtain mining licence, he said most of the documents are obtained externally, and applicants need to provide letters and statements from the bank to demonstrate financial capabilities.

“The CAC has given us the API to be able to now instantly confirm in real time whether the company is statutory, registered or listed,” Nkom said.

“At the beginning of your application, there are legal people in our public agencies that will check. They will go online and check to see whether as at that day, you are statutorily registered and you have met obligations. If not, definitely your application cannot go beyond that stage. That is for corporate companies.

“The second one is what we call the financial capabilities, you need to get letters and statements from the bank. For whatever we have done, we have identified quite a few of them.”

He said the MCO will soon take action against rule breakers, prosecute them, and work with relevant authorities to deter others, following thorough investigations.

‘MINERS BECOME ILLEGAL IF THEY MINE UNASSIGNED MINERALS’

Nkom said mining beyond one’s licensed mineral automatically renders one an “illegal miner” under the law, regardless of having a valid licence.

He said the law allows miners to apply for the addition of newly discovered minerals to their existing licence.

“It takes just a week or two to apply, and those licences will be added to the type of licence, whether it’s for exploration, a quarry lease, or whatever,” the DG said.

“At the end of the day, in the course of your exploitation, you have found out that your licence is gold. And in the course of bringing that gold, you are seeing copper.

“All you need to do is to declare that to the mines officer, and then you get the approval to now dispose of that mineral and pay the appropriate royalties.

“If you want to go a longer term, you can now apply to the mining cadastre for it to be added.”

Nkom added that the penalty is clearly specified in the provisions of the Act, which is also currently being reviewed to now meet recent happenings.