(NL/6386629737) The Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), with assistance from GAF AG, has successfully completed the implementation of its new Mining Cadastre System, which takes into account recent amendments in the countrys Mining Regulations. The GAF-developed computerised mining cadastre system supports all of the MCOs key business processes, is fully compliant with the relevant laws and regulations and adheres to international best practices.
The efficient and reliable management of mining titles is considered to be a key element in increasing investment in the mining sector in Nigeria. The newly established computerised cadastre system allows the MCO to grant, manage and cancel mining titles in an effective manner, thus strengthening the property rights and security of tenures within the mining sector, as well as improving the transparency of the mineral licensing process and the governments regulatory capacity. Governance in the mining sector gains from the improved efficiency, information availability and computer supported management.
The cadastre system has been developed, implemented and maintained by GAF since 2007 at the MCOs premises in Abuja, Nigeria. The recent amendments to the Mining Regulations made in 2011 are now implemented and reflected in the system. Key activities supported by GAF have consisted of, but have not been limited to, institutional strengthening, the elaboration and definition of administrative documents, the review and analysis of the mining act and regulations, the revision and streamlining of cadastral procedures, and the implementation and updating of the new modern, computerised mining cadastre system, which also features a web front end.
The Nigerian mining cadastre system is the most recent in a sequence of mineral governance assistance projects carried out by GAF: highlights include the computerisation of the mining cadastre
in Namibia initiated in 1997, which has provided more than 15 years of uninterrupted service and been updated twice, and the mining cadastre system in Madagascar, which was established with the support of GAF and has been praised by the World Bank as the most successful in Africa. And the new technology used in Nigeria has benefited considerably from the experience gained implementing the GAF-designed mining cadastre system for Mongolia.
MCO Director General Eng. M. K. Amate states: The MCO, as well as our numerous investors, will greatly benefit from the resulting full transparency of our cadastral activities, the increased operational efficiency, and the enhanced security of tenure of mineral titles. This will attract further investment into the mining sector in our country and lead to new jobs, poverty reduction and an increase in national wealth.
Dr. Tobias Wever, Head of the Geology/Mining Department at GAF, comments: "The computerisation of mining cadastres is not a job for just IT experts. The successful computerisation of mining cadastres and registries depends on an integrated multidisciplinary approach. We support our clients not only with IT, database and cadastral expertise but also with our deep understanding of the context: we mobilise our combined experience in IT and geo-information, in mining, geology and in regulatory frameworks, as well as in business process design and capacity building. Nigeria is the most recent success, and follows on from a number of projects in countries in Africa and Asia in which GAF has set-up best-in-class, nationwide computerised mining titling systems."
