By Oscarline Onwuemenyi
The Federal government has lamented that large deposits of gold found in some parts of the country have been left in the hands of artisanal and small scale miners thereby robbing the national economy of the wealth of one of the world’s most sought natural resource. Indeed, in the absence of any systematic exploration and development, the Nigerian goldfields have been experienced intense artisanal workings which target both the primary gold – the quartz reefs – and their associated alluvial occurrences.

Officially recorded gold production in Nigeria started by 1913 and peaked in the period 1933-1943 when about 1.4t of gold were produced. The gold production declined during the Second World War period and never recovered as mines were abandoned by mostly colonial companies.

The Nigerian Mining Corporation started exploration for gold in Nigeria in the early 1980s but failed to be sustained due to lack of funds. The discovery of petroleum and its subsequent domination of the Nigerian economy also contributed to the lack of attention to gold exploration despite the widespread potentials.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada, who made this disclosure during a meeting with the delegation from Sojitz Global Trading Nig. Ltd. led by its President and the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Shuhei Inoue, also rued the hesitation by major mining corporations to take advantage of the vast resources in the country, including gold.

According to Sada, “Recently, a large deposit of Gold was recently discovered in the North-Western part of the country and it is observed that the artisanal and small scale miners dominate its mining activities.”
Gold deposits are found in western Nigeria, most prominently near Maru, Anka, Malele, Tsohon Birnin Gwari-Kwaga, Gurmana, Bin Yauri, Okolom-Dogondaji, and Iperindo in Kwara State. Other states where the mineral resource can be found in the country include Niger, Osun, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Gold production began in 1913 and peaked in the 1930s. During the Second World War, production declined. Mines were abandoned by colonial companies, and production never recovered.

Currently, there is no large scale gold mining operation in Nigeria and much of the exploration is undertaken by small-scale miners and artisans who lack the equipment and experience for efficient gold exploration and, thus, have had to expose themselves and the environment to immense degradation, often with disastrous consequences on human lives and the environment. A recent tragic example is the lead poisoning from mining activities in some villages in Zamfara State where many women and children lost their lives.

According to the Minister, government is working relentlessly at ensuring that mid-tier miners are encouraged to operate in the nation’s mining industry so as to give support to the artisanal and small scale miners. “However, we appreciate that to achieve a virile development of the steel sub-sector of the nation’s mining industry, the government must be ready to collaborate with private investors. This would open up the exploration and exploitation of our mining resource,” he noted.

He further indicated that such a partnership was required for the exploitation of iron ore resources for the production of steel products in the country.

According to the Minister, “Our major interest now is steel making; private production of iron ore for the steel production.”

Arc .Sada noted that the Federal Government through the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe was the largest producer of iron ore in the country, stressing that Government is ready to encourage private investors to explore and exploit iron ore resource for the development of the nation steel sub-sector.

The Minister reiterated that for the nation’s mining industry to move forward and achieve the desired result, the Federal Government should encourage private investors to play their roles as operators while the government plays its role as a regulator.

He added that this decision by the Federal Government led to the enactment of the 2007 Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act for the mining industry to operate in line with the international best practices saying that, the issuance of mining titles is based on first come, first served in line with the law.

The Minister noted that the nation’s two steel companies (Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe) conceded twice to private investors were not successful as a result of the breach of agreements; he added that the Federal government is presently working towards reactivating these two entities which are supposed to be two integrated units to work together for the production of iron ore and its end product which is the steel.

Arc .Sada reaffirmed the government’s decision to collaborate with other stakeholders to move the sector forward, adding that such collaboration would provide technical advice on how to develop the mining sector.

He urged private investors to carry out relevant investigation of their interested areas in the nation’s solid mineral resources and put up technical proposals based on their expressed interest for consideration.

The Minister assured that the ministry through its agencies such as the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency, Mining Cadastre Office among others would facilitate their drive in area of geological data; approval and issuance of mining titles. He added that the Ministry is also taking proactive steps at facilitating speedy approval of mining licenses and grants to potential investors.