The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, has declared its intention to revoke the titles of licensed landholders where illegal mining is taking place.
According to The PUNCH, this announcement came as the ministry responded to a recent mine collapse in Niger State that resulted in three fatalities.
The incident occurred on Thursday at approximately 10 am, only two weeks after a similar tragedy in Shiroro, Niger State, which had trapped over 50 miners.
In a statement released on Saturday, Segun Tomori, the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, conveyed that preliminary investigations identified the collapsed mine as part of Exploration Licence 43113, held by Jurassic Mines Limited, located in Adunu Village, Paikoro Local Government Area, Niger State.
Alake stated, “Owners of licenced units of land mined by illegal miners will lose their titles.” He elaborated that an exploration licence merely allows the holder to assess the site’s suitability for mineral exploration and does not permit actual mining activities.
Reflecting on the ministry’s response to the incident, Alake reported that the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development was notified of the accident at around 4.45 pm on Thursday.
The reports indicated that three individuals had died when a tunnel collapsed while they were mining gold at the site. Further investigations revealed the miners were operating illegally.
The ministry quickly dispatched mine officers to the scene, arriving at around 6.15 pm.
They discovered that three men had perished in the accident and had already been buried.
“At the time of the visit, work had stopped at the site, and only onlookers were seen. The coordinates of the site were taken, and officials returned to Minna at about 8.30 pm. The owners of the company were contacted by phone, but they claimed ignorance of happenings on the site. They were then summoned to the office in the state capital,” Alake detailed.
The minister promised to provide updates as new information became available.
Nearly two weeks after the Shiroro mine collapse, another mine disaster occurred on Thursday, resulting in three deaths and one injury.
The Niger State Ministry of Mineral Resources disclosed ongoing rescue efforts for the miners trapped in the Shiroro incident and lamented the lack of assistance from multinational rescue organizations.
The latest collapse took place in Bazakwoi, Adunu Community, within Paikoro Local Government Area, at an illegal gold mining site, causing the deaths of the three miners.
