SEVEN DAYS FREE TRAINING ON HOW TO START GEMSTONE MINING IN NIGERIA

DAY FIVE

HOW TO SET UP THE MINING OPERATIONS
The model of Gemstone mining operations designed for this training, as stated earlier is a small/ medium scale mining. The number of miners usually engaged is between 5-15 persons. These miners are provided accommodation and feeding. There are also tools to be acquired for the purpose of the work. In today's lesson, we are going to be looking at how to set up the Gemstone Mining Operation. For those who missed previous lessons, I will post the links below this lesson. Now, let us look at the following:
i. Accommodation
ii. Tools
iii. Cooking Utensils
iv. Food
v. Logistics

i. ACCOMMODATION:
Accommodation for miners is the first thing to bear in mind when planning to set up a mining operation. It is always advisable to quarter the miners within the location of the mining site so as not to incur extra expenses on transportation. Accommodation within these mining areas is usually cheap. In many cases, accommodation is provided by the locals free of charge. However, it is always better to budget for your accommodation. A room in those areas is about N18,000 to N24,000 per year. So, a mining work with about eight miners, for instance, will require two rooms. This will translate to about N36,000 to N48,000 per year.

There are other instances where you need to construct temporal accommodation for the miners at the site, using any cheap materials available within that environment. In that case, the miners work and sleep at the site. Prices of rooms as stated above may vary depending on the location.

ii. TOOLS:
As earlier stated, small and medium-scale mining is basically carried out using manual labor. In this regard, there are tools needed to be able to carry out the work. These include diggers, shovels, chisels, hammers, etc. There are areas where you may need more than these, but as a small-scale miner, it is advisable to start from sites with alluvial deposits. That is mineral deposits that are not too deep. In some instances where there are rocks, it means that you need a drilling machine and blasting materials. You may also need a water pump to pump out water and a generator set to power the pump. All these depend on the topography of the area. It is however recommended to avoid places with rock or areas that the deposits are deep enough to demand a water pump and generator set. You will acquire the capacity for such serious operations with time.

iii. COOKING UTENSILS:
Part of the things you must buy when setting up the mining operation is pots, plates, spoons, and other cooking materials. Your men are going to be cooking at the site. In fact, in some large operations, there are workers whose sole responsibilities are cooking foods and making sure that the miners are fed well at all times. So, apart from other expenditures, you must provide materials for cooking.

iv. FOOD:
You cannot get the desired results if your miners are hungry. Food is very important in mining. This is because mining work is very hard work. Those who do the work must be adequately fed to be able to carry out the work. Food is going to take the highest share of your expenditure. It is recommended to buy food that can last them for at least two weeks or even a month so as to give yourself room to prepare before their food finishes.

v. LOGISTICS AND OTHERS:
Apart from the aforementioned items to be purchased, setting up a Gemstone mining operation requires certain expenditures that may not be covered under any of the above headings. These include transportation and other minor expenses that always spring up once in a while. Injuries will always occur which must be treated. Tools at times break down and must be repaired and so on. It is recommended that you always keep some money in case of all these eventualities.

HOW TO ORGANIZE THE MINING OPERATION:
Prudent organization or management of miners and resources are very important in achieving the overall objective of the venture. In the first place, it must be noted that most of the miners you are going to be working with are uneducated or at best, semi-educated persons. Such a class of individuals is not so easy to manage if you do not understand their psychology. One thing you are going to observe is that most of their actions and inactions are motivated by sentiments and emotions, and not by rational thinking. But then, your interest is for them to get the gems out of the ground.

The best method to organize them is to ask them to elect a leader among themselves. They normally listen to their leaders. Do not make the mistake of imposing a leader on your miners. So, as soon as they elect the person to lead them, insist on strict discipline. Do not try to manage them directly for that will prove more costly. You must have someone among them take responsibility and accountability. Always appeal to their sentiments and not to reason. And do not forget to accord due recognition to their leader so as to make him your servant.

You also need to have a site manager, who is a seasoned gemstone miner. The site manager is the one who deals with you directly and then gives directives to the leader of the miners who in turn makes sure that your orders are carried out to the detail. These layers of authority make it very easy for you to manage the workers.

When hiring your workers, make sure that you include one of your own relatives who is going to be your eyes on the site. Do not try to impose such a relative as the leader of the miners. Let him just join them as a learner. But the main objective is to be your eyes.

In terms of allocation and management of resources, make sure that from the onset, you make it clear to your site manager and the leader of the miners that you do not entertain wastes. It is not everything they request that you rush to do even if you have the money at hand. They must be made to understand that the funding is not so easy to come by. In that way, you instill in them prudent management of resources.

Over 80% of your expenditure will be dedicated to feeding costs. Tools do not break down too often. Injuries do not occur all the time. The house rent you paid for is already established. The other expense that will always crop in once in a while is that you must bring something for the boys anytime you are visiting them. This can be once every two weeks or a month depending on where you are coming from.
END OF LESSON 5. I did not include the locations where gemstones are found in Nigeria to avoid making today's lesson too long. In tomorrow's lesson, we shall look at where gemstones are found in Nigeria.
For your questions & inquiries, see my signature below for my contact.



Link to Lesson One: https://www.nairaland.com/6664503/how-start-gemstone-mining-nigeria
Link to Lesson Two: https://www.nairaland.com/6666307/how-start-gemstone-mining-nigeria
Link to Lesson Three: https://www.nairaland.com/6667994/how-start-gemstone-mining-nigeria
Link to Lesson Four: https://www.nairaland.com/6669303/how-start-gemstone-mining-nigeria