The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development said it revoked 4,176 mining titles between 2011 and 2018. It said that 908 mining titles were revoked in 2011, none was revoked in 2012, 548 were revoked in 2013 and 250 in 2014. The report said no title was revoked in 2015, while 941 titles were revoked in 2016, none was revoked in 2017 and 1,529 were revoked in 2018. It said that the justification and major benefits that the government derived from the exercise include the removal of dormant and unused titles in the Mining Cadestre Office (MCO) mineral titles database. According to the report, the revocation has helped to reduce to the barest minimum the level of speculation and discouragement in the sector.

Source: The Guardian February 03, 2019 15:00 UTC