‘Illegal Miners Constitute 90% of Nigeria Miners’

• ‘Illegal Miners Constitute 90% of Nigeria Miners’

Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon. Abubakar Bwari, has said over two million miners, representing 90 per cent of miners in the country operate illegally.

According to him, these miners who are mostly poor and unemployed are responsible for the largest percentage of the country’s mineral production.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the first National Stakeholders’ Discourse on Opportunities and Challenges of Artisanal Mining in Nigeria, Bwari also said close to 50 million people are involved globally in artisanal mining.

He also said these illegal miners who are referred to as Artisanal and Smallscale Miners (ASM) are found mining precious minerals such as gold, silver, cassiterite, coltan, lead/zinc, sapphire, emerald and others.

He said: “With the renewed interest in mining brought about by the current administration’s diversification efforts, at least two million people in Nigeria are now directly or indirectly dependant on ASM for their livelihood.

“Most of them are poor and unemployed, living in rural areas and employing crude methods and household implements to exploit these minerals which they sell to feed their families.