Lack of capital and inadequate expertise have hindered the development of small scale mining in the country, an official in the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has said.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Mr Obiora Azubike, the ministry’s Director, Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Department, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
“They lack capital. The technical know-how is also lacking, in terms of the techniques for both mining and processing.
“They are not very versed in those areas. And of course they lack capital to carry out effective operations.
“They (artisanal miners) have peculiar characteristics. It (operation) is poverty-driven. It is seasonal. They do not carry out these activities all-year-around.
“Some of them are farmers, some do something else, but during the non-farming seasons they become artisanal miners.’’
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Azubike said it was sometimes difficult for some of the miners to last a year in their operations because of the lack of capacity to sustain operations.
“Artisanal mining is migratory. So, they (miners) do not stay in a particular place. They move from place to place.
“The ministry has a programme that will be used to address some of the challenges facing the miners.’’
The director said the ministry had its own budget allocation which would enable it to provide extension service training as well as provide health and safety kits, among other things.
“What is interesting is that the ministry has a Solid Minerals Development Fund yet to take off. The board has been established and the grant and all that will soon be approved.
“When this happens, all these macro-credit to artisanal miners and even other programmes and money for such activities will be derived from such funds,’’ Azubike stated.
He, therefore, advised artisanal and small scale miners to operate in line with the Mining Act to minimise the damage that could be done to the environment from their activities.
NAN reports that artisanal miners engage in the extraction of iron-ore, gold, granite, limestone, lead, coal, barytes, gypsum, kaolin, galena and gemstones. (NAN)
