TIN (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT

(1) Where it appears to the Minister appropriate for the purpose of giving effect to any international agreement to which Nigeria is a party that the production and export of tin and tin ore should for the time being be controlled, he may by order provide that this section shall have effect as respects such period or further period as may be specified by the order.
(2) During any period specified by an order under the foregoing subsection, no person shall export any quantity of tin or tin ore or deliver any quantity of tin ore to a smelter unless that person is authorised by a licence issued to him by the Minister to export it or, as the case may be, to deliver it to that smelter.
(3) A person who contravenes the provisions of the last foregoing subsection shall be guilty of an offence and liable-
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine of an amount not exceeding two hundred naira;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of an amount not exceeding two thousand naira or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both.
(4) Where an offence under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(1) No person shall deliver to a smelter or export any quantity of tin ore unless he has paid to the Minister the prescribed levy in respect of that quantity.
(2) The Minister may make regulations-
(a) prescribing the amounts of the levies payable under the foregoing subsection in respect of any quantity of tin and tin ore respectively;
(b) prescribing the manner in which any such levy is to be paid; and
(c) for securing that the levy is not paid more than once in respect of the same ore; and the regulations may contain such supplemental and incidental provisions as the Minister considers expedient for the purposes of the regulations and may make different provision (other than provision as to the rate of a levy) for different circumstances.
(3) If any person fails to pay a levy payable by him under this section, then-
(a) he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding two hundred naira; and
(b) the Minister may recover the amount of the levy in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(4) The Minister shall in each financial year pay over to the research council, out of moneys provided by the National Assembly, an amount equal to not less than the aggregate amount of the sums received and the sums he estimates will be received by him during that year by way of levies under this section.
(5) In this section, "the research council" means the body commonly known as the International Tin Research Council.

(1) Every smelter shall, within twenty days after the end of each month, give to the Minister a report in writing containing particulars of-
(a) his name and the addresses of all premises at which he carries on business as a smelter;
(b) the quantities of tin and tin ore respectively under his control on the last day of that month;
(c) the quantities of tin ore acquired by him during that month;
(d) the quantities of tin and tin ore respectively despatched to a destination or disposed of outside Nigeria by him during that month, specifying the countries in question;
(e) the quantities of tin and tin ore respectively disposed of within Nigeria by him during that month; and
(f) the quantity of tin, estimated in a reasonably accurate manner, in each quantity of ore mentioned in the report.
(2) A smelter who-
(a) fails to furnish a report required by the foregoing subsection (1) of this section; or
(b) furnishes such a report which he knows to be, or recklessly furnishes such a report which is, false in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding two hundred naira.

(1) Where tin ore is delivered for smelting in Nigeria, the smelter shall become the agent of the producer of the mineral (in this Act hereafter called "the producer") for the purpose of the payment of royalty thereon; and, anything to the contrary in any enactment or rule of law notwithstanding, he shall be primarily liable for payment of that royalty for credit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund as directed by the Chief Inspector of Mines.
(2) Accordingly, the smelter may deduct from the amount otherwise payable by him to the producer for tin ore smelted, the amount necessary to satisfy the royalty due in respect of that tin ore; and the production at any time after payment of the relevant receipt or certificate of payment, as the case may be, in respect of the tin ore smelted shall for all purposes be sufficient acquittance and discharge to him for the amounts so paid.

(1) The Minister may by order prohibit the production of tin in the Northern States except in so far as in particular cases the Minister may in his discretion by a licence under his hand permit such production.
(2) In subsection (1) the word "tin" means tin concentrates of shipping grade, and the expression "the production of tin" means the winning of tin concentrates of shipping grade by mining or prospecting operations or the conversion of any tin ore which has been so won into tin concentrates of shipping grade.

(1) The Minister may by order prohibit the export of tin from the Northern States except in so far as in particular cases the Minister may in his discretion by a licence under his hand permit such export.
(2) In this section the word "tin" includes tin ore.

The provisions of sections 9, 12, 13 and 14 shall only have effect during such time as there is in force an order of the Minister under either section 5 or section 6.

(1) A licence granted under an order made under either section 5 or section 6 shall be valid for such period and in respect of such total quantity of tin as the Minister may specify, and may be subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may in his discretion think fit to impose.
(2) It may be a term of any licence that any previous licence shall be deemed to be cancelled.
(3) Any licence may with the consent of the Minister be transferred.

(1) No person shall consign any tin by the railway or by any vessel on any waterway for carriage to any place out of the Northern States unless he shall first produce to an authorised officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation or to the master of the vessel at the railway station or place on the waterway (as the case may be) from which he intends to consign the tin a permit in writing issued and signed by a government officer appointed by the Minister to issue permits for the purposes of this section.
(2) No permit shall be issued under this section which would if acted upon involve a contravention by any person of any order made under section 6.
(3) In this section the word "tin" includes tin ore.

(1) Any police officer, officer of the Department of Mines or officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation may seize and detain any tin in respect of which he has reasonable cause for believing that any offence has been committed against this Act, and shall report such seizure and detention, or cause the same to be reported, to a magistrate, and if the owner of the tin or any agent or servant of such owner is convicted of any offence under this Act in respect of the tin, the whole or such portion of the tin as the court may specify shall be forfeited to the Nigerian Government, and shall be dealt with in such manner as the Minister may direct.
(2) Any tin seized and detained under this section shall be released unless a prosecution is instituted for an offence under this Act within fourteen days of the seizure.
(3) In this section, the word "tin" has the meaning assigned to it by the section creating the offence which has or is believed to have been committed.

(1) No provisions of section 9 and of subsections (1) and (2) of section 10 shall apply to ore containing tin to the same extent as they apply to tin.

(1) No person may in any one period of three of successive months ending on the 31st day of March, the 30th day of June, the 30th day of September or the 31st day of December in any one year remove from the ground ore containing tin which if converted into tin concentrates of shipping grade would be in excess of the amount of tin concentrates of shipping grade which may be produced under a licence in force issued to that person under subsection (1) of section 5.
(2) Any person who removes from the ground any ore containing tin which if converted into tin concentrates of shipping grade would be in excess of the amount for which such a licence has been issued or without such a licence as aforesaid shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

Where ore containing tin is produced in the course of the production of some other metal or substance, the production of tin not being the principal object of the operations, the production of such other metal or substance shall, in addition to the requirements of any other Act, only be carried on on the following conditions that-(a) a licence under this Act is granted for the removal from the ground of ore containing tin;
(b) such ore containing tin is converted forthwith into tin concentrates of shipping grade;
(c) such tin concentrates of shipping grade are deposited in such place and under such terms and conditions as the Minister may direct;
(d) such tin concentrates of shipping grade shall only be sold, disposed of or otherwise dealt with with the prior approval of the Minister;
(e) there shall be stated in the licence the total amount of tin concentrates of shipping grade which may be produced under such licence during any specified period of time; and
(f) not more ore containing tin which if converted into tin concentrates of shipping grade would exceed the amount specified in the licence shall be removed from the ground during the period for which the licence is in force.

Where any person is lawfully in possession of tin ore which if converted into tin concentrates of shipping grade would together with the tin concentrates of shipping grade which that person is licensed to remove from the ground exceed the amount of tin concentrates of shipping grade which that person should be able to have in his custody or possession under any licence for the time being in force, all such excess quantity of ore containing tin shall forthwith, or within such period of time as the Minister after considering the circumstances of the case may allow, be converted into tin concentrates of shipping grade and shall be placed in such place as the Minister in his absolute discretion may direct, not only during the time that the owner thereof is licensed to remove from the ground ore containing tin but also after the determination of any such licence:
Provided that during the time the owner thereof is licensed to export tin from the Northern States such owner shall be entitled to draw upon such excess quantity of ore containing tin (whether the same shall have been converted into tin concentrates of shipping grade or not) in order to make up the amount of tin which such owner is licensed to export as aforesaid.

(1) Any person who contravenes or attempts to contravene any of the provisions of this Part or of any order made or of the terms or conditions of any licence issued under this Part shall be guilty of an offence under this Part.
(2) Any person who commits an offence under this Part shall be liable to a fine of two hundred naira or to imprisonment for twelve months or to both.

(1) This Part shall apply to the Northern States.
(2) This Part shall continue in force until the Minister declares that it is no longer necessary or expedient that it should continue in force:
Provided that on the expiration of this Part section 14 of the Interpretation Act shall apply as if this Part had been repealed by another Act.

(1) In this Act unless the context otherwise requires-
"export" means export from Nigeria or any part thereof;
"master" means the person in charge or command of any vessel except a pilot;
"Minister" means the Minister of the Government of the Federation responsible for minerals;
"Northern States" means all the States in that part of Nigeria formerly known as the Northern Region;
"smelter" means person who carries on the business of smelting tin ore whether or not as part of any other business carried on by him;
"vessel" means any ship, boat, canoe or any other kind of craft.
(2) "To export from the Northern States" means to transfer or to cause to be transferred from the Northern States.

This Act may be cited as the Tin (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.