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The Federal Government
of Nigeria has mapped out strategies for the development of
Artisanal and Small Scale Mining operations in the country.
The Minister of Mines
and Steel Development, Chief Sarafa Tunji Isola, unfolded
the strategies while declaring open a two day National
Workshop on the development of Artisanal and Small Scale
Mining in Nigeria, organized in Jos, Plateau State by the
Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project (SMMRP).
The SMMRP is funded by the World Bank/IDA, with the Ministry
of Mines and Steel Development as the implementing Agency.
The objectives of the
workshop were:
i. Sensitize
the artisanal and small scale miners;
ii. Present
the Nationwide Baseline Study and Programme for the
development of artisanal and small scale mining;
iii.
Present the modalities
for accessing the US$ 10 million Grant to fund Artisanal and
Small Scale Miners and Mining Communities.
Chief Isola who was
represented by the Minister of State, Ministry of Mines and
Steel Development, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Gusau said that the
workshop was timely and a milestone in the march towards
poverty reduction and economic transformation in line with
the present administration’s efforts at fast tracking the
development of the Country.
Chief Isola disclosed
that government’s determination to develop the artisanal and
small scale mining sub-sector informed the idea of the
nationwide baseline study of the sector last year which was
presented to the stakeholders at the workshop.
The Minister said that
the study was designed to ascertain the true picture of
mining in Nigeria for government’s intervention.
Chief Isola disclosed
that the Mining Industry collapsed as a result of the
discovery of Oil and the crash of commodity prices in the
80s which brought about a downturn in the national economy
and increased poverty in rural communities where mining was
a major source of livelihood. As a result of that
development, informal mining activities became widespread,
leading to preponderance of Artisanal and Small Scale Mining
which now accounts for over 95% of all mining operations in
the country.
Chief Isola disclosed
that presently, the Artisanal and Small Scale Miners engage
in the extraction of more than 20 different minerals
including Gold, Barytes, Columbite, Tantalite, Gemstone and
Gypsum in various parts of the country. He Minister also
observed that due to the mode of operation of Artisanal and
Small Scale Miners, little value is added to the minerals
exploited thereby resulting in revenue loss to the country.
To turn around the
fortunes in the Artisanal and Small Scale Mining sub-sector,
the Minister disclosed that the Federal Government has put
in place the following measures:
i. establishment
of the Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Department in the
Ministry to among other things, coordinate the operations in
the sub-sector
ii. facilitating
access to the World bank US$10 Million Grant
iii. formalizing
their operations through cooperatives
iv. provision
of alternative means of livelihood and wealth creation in
rural communities
v. sustainable
management of mineral resources
vi. meeting
the Millennium Development Goals
vii. production
of critical industrial minerals for import substitution
viii.
provisions of Nigeria’s Minerals and Mining Act of 2007 to
guide and promote small scale mining activities
Chief Isola enjoined
the participants at the workshop who came from various parts
of the country to participate actively in order to realize
the objective of developing the artisanal and small scale
mining sub-sector in Nigeria.
In his remarks at the
occasion, Mr. Sunday Ekozin, the President of Miners
Association of Nigeria, thanked the Ministry for organizing
the workshop and assured of his members support and
cooperation for the development of the mining sector.
The nationwide
baseline study and programme for the development of the
Artisanal and Small Scale Mining in Nigeria was presented by
Mr. Kevin D’Souza and Ms Bethany Hipwell of Wardell
Armstrong LLP, United Kingdom.
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