FG Garners N44.65bn from Solid Minerals in 8 Months, Surpasses 2024 Full-year Revenue 

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nigeria’s solid minerals sector paid a total of N44.65 billion into the Federation Account between January and August 2025, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD) has reported to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). 

The September FAAC document seen by THISDAY showed that revenue in the first eight months of this year exceeded the N38 billion collected in the entire 2024, a significant improvement in the potential of the barely untapped sector.

Besides, the figure, drawn from a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) schedule attached to the submission, confirmed the sector’s most buoyant eight-month run in recent years and puts receipts 21.1 per cent above the ministry’s full-year approved revenue budget of N36.88 billion as of August.

THISDAY’s checks revealed that the N38 billion revenue in 2024, was up from just N6 billion the previous year (2023), despite receiving only 18 per cent of its N29 billion budgeted allocation.

According to the document, N6.23 billion was credited in August, up from N5.84 billion in July—a month-on-month rise of 6.7 per cent. August’s outturn was split between royalties of N3.53 billion (56.6 per cent) and fees of N2.70 billion (43.4 per cent) derived from service charges, registration, and the issuance of mining licences. 

In the same vein, against its monthly target of N3.07 billion, August revenue produced a positive variance of N3.16 billion, meaning it exceeded the target by 102.7 per t.

“The positive variance is attributable to strategic licensing practices, increased revenue tracking, continuous inspection and auditing of records, and curbing of illegal mining, amongst others,” the ministry noted in the FAAC brief.

A review of the  collection schedule showed a broadly firm trend despite normal fluctuations across the first half. January opened the year with N4.18 billion, followed by N3.78 billion in February. Collections dipped to N2.15 billion in March—around 69.8 per cent of the monthly target and a 30.2 per cent shortfall—before rebounding strongly. 

April’s N7.89 billion was about 156.5 per cent above target, and May’s N9.66 billion—the highest single month so far—was 214.2 per cent above target. June delivered N4.75 billion, July N5.84 billion, and August N6.23 billion.

By contribution to the year-to-date total of N44.65 billion, May accounted for 21.6 per cent, April 17.7 per cent, August 14.0 per cent, and July 13.1 per cent . January and February contributed 9.4 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively, while June added 10.6 per cent. 

March, the softest month, provided 4.8 per cent. Together, April and May supplied about 39.3 per cent of all receipts booked so far in 2025, underscoring the impact of stronger compliance, seasonal output, and tightened oversight.

The August figures also reinforced the Ministry of Solid Minerals’ budget performance. With a monthly target of N3.07 billion, the eight-month target would have been N24.59 billion. Actual receipts of N44.65 billion are therefore N20.05 billion higher, leaving the ministry 81.6 per cent above its pro-rata target for the period. 

Put differently, average monthly collections this year of N5.58 billion are running 81.6 per cent above the N3.07 billion target. By THISDAY’s estimation, if the year-to-date average is merely sustained through December, 2025 could close around N67 billion in solid minerals inflows.

The composition of August revenue points to the policy mix driving the surge. Royalties (N3.53 billion) payments tied to minerals produced and sold formed the majority of the month’s inflow, signalling improved declarations and better capture of output. 

Fees (N2.70 billion), including annual service fees and licensing reflected the federal government’s efforts to formalise operations, push title regularisation, and monetise administrative processes in a transparent manner. 

The ministry’s accounting note credits the outcome to “strategic licensing practices” and “continuous inspection and auditing of records,” alongside an ongoing clampdown on illegal mining.

Beyond the month-to-month movement, the pattern across the eight months suggested three important shifts, checks indicated. First, the rebound from March’s trough to the April–May peak indicated operators are increasingly aligning with compliance requirements as enforcement tightens.

Also, revenues are becoming less volatile at the margin: the combined July–August take rose 6.7 per cent, with both months clearing the target by wide margins. In the same vein, fee-based revenue is proving to be an important second engine, contributing more than two-fifths of August’s total and helping to smooth fluctuations from production-linked royalties.

In terms of how it contributes to the federation’s bottomline,  every extra naira that the solid minerals sector remits to the Federation Account lifts the distributable pool for the three tiers of government. 

Nigeria’s efforts to tap its vast solid mineral wealth have been repeatedly constrained by structural, regulatory, and operational challenges. Though the country is richly endowed with resources such as gold, lithium, iron ore, limestone, coal, and bitumen, several obstacles prevent these deposits from translating into broad economic gains.

Some central challenges include: Inadequate geological data; infrastructure bottleneck; regulatory and policy uncertainty; illegal mining; largely artisanal and small-scale operators as well as security risks.