Abubakar Bwari, the Minister of State, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, says more than two million people in Nigeria depend on illegal mining for their livelihood.

Mr Bwari made this known at a two-day “First National Stakeholders’ Discourse on Opportunities and Challenges of Artisanal Mining in Nigeria’’ on Monday in Abuja.

According to him, most of the miners are poor and unemployed living in rural areas and employing crude methods and household implements to exploit these minerals which they sell to feed their families.

He said they were mostly found mining precious minerals like gold, silver, lead/zinc, sapphire, emerald, tourmaline, aquamarine, gypsum, barytes, silica sand, granite, sandstones, clay, and salt among others.

“We cannot afford to criminalise their activities and we cannot also fold our arms and watch as they damage the lives of our people and the environment,’’ he said.

He said some of the environmental problems which include lead poisoning, mercury pollution, deforestation, poor sanitation, and heavy metals pollution among others were caused by Artisanal and Small Scale Mining in Nigeria (ASM).

Mr Bwari said that the use of inappropriate mining methods and unwholesome mineral ore processing techniques impact dangerously on public health as they exposed people to heavy metal pollution and outbreak of infectious diseases.

He, however, said the forum was to address the myriad of challenges posed by illegal mining.

According to him, the ministry has made strenuous efforts to regulate ASM activities over the years.

The minister of state said that in the last three years, the ministry’s regulatory mechanisms had led to some measure of success.

“We are more than ever before determined to ensure better policing of artisanal miners through the newly constituted Mines Police.

“We have also increased the monitoring capacity of our Mine Inspectorate with the recent purchase of new vehicles.

“The formalisation policy of the ministry has also led to the registration of more artisanal miners into mining cooperatives.’’

Mr Bwari said the ministry had trained more than 250 members of these cooperatives across the country.

He urged the participants to provide lasting solutions to the thorny issue of integrating artisanal miners into formal mining in Nigeria.

“As the theme of this conference clearly shows, there are great opportunities in the artisanal and small scale mining subsector which can lead to growth in the economy, while also enriching the lives of the miners themselves,’’ he said.

The minister of state also donated a Toyota Hilux to the Executive of the Miners Association of Nigeria to aid the activities of the association.

Also speaking, Abdulkadir Muazu, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, said the stakeholders gathering was to brainstorm on the issues associated with artisanal mining in Nigeria.

Mr Muazu said ASM had implications that were cross sectoral in their nature such as poor regulation which had affected host mining communities, national economic development and security.

He said that artisanal mining activities had also been linked to smuggling, social disruption, child labour, influx of illegal migrants, and outbreak of diseases due to poor sanitary environment under which mining camps thrive.

“On the contrary though, artisanal mining has been known to provide jobs and livelihoods to great number of people around the world.

“Globally, it is estimated that more than 40 million people are engaged in the sector producing more than a filth of the world’s gold, tin and tantalum supplies.

“ASM also accounts for more than 80 per cent of global supply of gemstones, especially sapphire, emerald, tourmaline, rubelites, aquamarine, and topaz.

“More than 90 per cent of Nigeria’s mineral production comes from the artisanal miners and these miners use inappropriate methods and very rudimentary tools to exploit mineral deposits,’’ he said.

Jean Bakole, the Regional Director Band Country Representative for Nigeria and ECOWAS, UNIDO, quoting the World Bank report said that 80 countries were involved in ASM practices and there were 100 million Artisanal miners globally.

Mr Bakole, represented by Yemi Banjo, Environmental expert with UNIDO, called for more support from mining stakeholders to holistically address ASM activities in Nigeria.

Shehu Sani, the President, Miners Association of Nigeria said the association would continue to support the ministry to reduce illegal mining in Nigeria.

(NAN)

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/279108-over-2-million-people-engage-in-illegal-mining-for-survival-fg.html

which of the minings; is it skull mining or d other kind of mining?....please be specific.

cus the kind of mining we all know that is very much evil nd illegal is that of skull mining which is more prevalent with the people of the west coast......

Why informing us,why not bombard them the way you are doing to niger delta people in the name of illegal refineries.just because they are mostly northerns then they are untouchable.

dynicks:
which of the minings; is it skull mining or d other kind of mining?....please be specific.

cus the kind of mining we all know that is very much evil nd illegal is that of skull mining which is more prevalent with the people of the west coast......

...And mother nature weeps.

How many of them have been arrested like they do with oyel bunkering in the Niger Delta?

If government unlocked the potential of those areas with modern equipment and funding there could be industry and export potential. The other issue is illegal miners harm environment and do not pay taxes. Anything that goes wrong will be everyones collective problem while they reap private benefits.

Saying you cant criminalize the activity of these illegal miners is disingenuous because illegal miners are arrested every ounce in awhile. What your actually doing is using a carrot and stick approach. The ministry wishes to help the illegal miners who register and jail those who dont submit.

“We cannot afford to criminalise their activities and we cannot also fold our arms and watch as they damage the lives of our people and the environment,’’ he said.

“We are more than ever before determined to ensure better policing of artisanal miners through the newly constituted Mines Police.

“The formalisation policy of the ministry has also led to the registration of more artisanal miners into mining cooperatives.’’

dynicks:
which of the minings; is it skull mining or d other kind of mining?....please be specific.

cus the kind of mining we all know that is very much evil nd illegal is that of skull mining which is more prevalent with the people of the west coast......

Seun, we need PG on NL, the rate at which underage kids comment here is alarming, he is even FTC, smh!!!

So we even have all these solid minerals in this goddamned nation and we are still like this..
For God's sake, why not harnesses these things and diversify the economy... Oh! I forgot, looting won't be lucrative.

Then allow them to mine it in peace ni
Abeg who know where gold dey I don dey find am since

And who is to blame for dis

The oil you mine in the south is it legal? All I see is traces of a failed government.

2 million northerners!

only the creek boys can be arrested for oil hunkering.

All na hustle.... Both skull mining and the other one

THE CAUSE OF ALL CRIMES AND BACKWARDNESS IN NIGERIA IS THAT WE HAVE KAKISTOCRATIC LEADERS...

THUNDER ABEG, FIRE ANY POLITICIAN THAT HAS LOOTED FROM OUR TREASURY, THANKS...

dynicks:
which of the minings; is it skull mining or d other kind of mining?....please be specific.

cus the kind of mining we all know that is very much evil nd illegal is that of skull mining which is more prevalent with the people of the west coast......

For your mind now u don crack a funny

Hear him speak. you cannot criminalize illegal mining in the north, but you criminalize oil bunkery in the south? you see why one Nigeria is a scam?

If niger delta people take small crude they be labeled criminals and bombarded but if same is done in the north they ll call them poor people with no means of livelihood and plead with them to stop..... One Nigeria have a new meaning

you mean 2 million afonja are into Skull mining.

Which of the FG, please?

Oh...Nigeria FG.

“We cannot afford to criminalise their activities and we cannot also fold our arms and watch as they damage the lives of our people and the environment,’’ he said

I wish same can happen here in NigerDelta.

kenny714433:

So we even have all these solid minerals in this goddamned nation and we are still like this..
For God's sake, why not harnesses these things and diversify the economy... Oh! I forgot, looting won't be lucrative.

Then allow them to mine it in peace ni
Abeg who know where gold dey I don dey find am since

its in ilesha hausa ilegal miner has full the area.

Una know yet Una no fit make them mine legally by providing adequate equipment ad support

Illegal mining normal in the north. Bt south south oil bunkerring na die. Nawa

What do you expect. When a government can't coordinate herself to positively utilise its natural resource for the benefit of her citizens.

What they are doing is simply called, Help yourself.

Blue3k2:


Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/279108-over-2-million-people-engage-in-illegal-mining-for-survival-fg.html

OK but it is Good to Blow up the Niger Deltans who mine their Own Oil, I hope the world can see the balance of power, I thought it all belongs to the state.

Blue3k2:
If government unlocked the potential of those areas with modern equipment and funding there could be industry and export potential. The other issue is illegal miners harm environment and do not pay taxes. Anything that goes wrong will be everyones collective problem while they reap private benefits.

Saying you cant criminalize the activity of these illegal miners is disingenuous because illegal miners are arrested every ounce in awhile. What your actually doing is using a carrot and stick approach. The ministry wishes to help the illegal miners who register and jail those who dont submit.

Nah not Jail, Bomb!python Dance them.

They got killed in taraba an nairalanders weren't happy. Its funny considering fact they resisted arrest and attacked police.

erico2k2:

Nah not Jail, Bomb!python Dance them.

Blue3k2:
They got killed in taraba an nairalanders weren't happy. Its funny considering fact they resisted arrest and attacked police.

Well this same approach they are trying to portray over there is what we in the Niger Delta have been saying for long, Grant boys licence to refine, lets see if the Diesel wont come down to the best quality if investors get in in small scale.

Blue3k2:


Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/279108-over-2-million-people-engage-in-illegal-mining-for-survival-fg.html

and all in the north..

1. People mining solid minerals in the north illegally are poor and doing so for survival therefore assisted.

2. People doing illegal oil bunkry in the south are economic saboteurs and Criminals therefore hunted down with python dances.

=Nigeria, one country. two different laws for North and South.

Its weird people pretending like illegal mining is limited to the north. You can google illegal mining arrest in nigeria and see for yourselves its happens everywhere. Theres also an investigative report on illegal miners in Ebonyi using child labor here on nairaland.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTf8goJy9o


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap4zkZiGqD4

Government is hypocritical about illegal mining in Nigeria. What do you want the people to survive on when you refused to provide the enabling environment for the private sector to flourish so that they can be gainfully emoyed? Governments do not complain, rather governments act. Some of us in the solid minerals sector who understand who it works know that Nigerian Government lacks the capacity to stop illegal mining. Where are they going to start? Abeg make I hear word jooo!
For those of you who want to go into gemstone mining, read my article on the subject: https://www.nairaland.com/3822097/how-start-gemstone-mining-nigeria