FG to end exploitation of gold miners

THE Federal Government has said it is working on ending the exploitation of gold miners in the field by middle men who buy cheap from miners and sell at huge international prices.

The government said it is trying to ensure that miners begin to benefit from their labour and realise their sweat to promote the industry so that other people can be attracted to it.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the government is trying to promote the sector so that it can generate revenue for government at the same time provide employment.

Adegbite stated this when he welcomed members of the Small Scale and Artisanal Miners Association, led by the ex-Governor of Bauch State, Isah Yuguda.

Yuguda in his speech said there is more money in the minerals business than oil that can grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Everyone knows, including the international community, that there is more money in the solid minerals business than in oil, the sector can contribute as much as the agriculture sector can contribute to our GDP and our job creation capacity and take our people out of poverty,” he said.

Chairman of the Association, Nasiru Wada, informed the minister that the association is working on creating a data base for all artisan and small scale miners (illegal miners) in the country to curb the rate of insecurity.

He said that miners would like the government to address the issue of their earnings so that they are not unnecessarily victimized.

His words, “We are concerned of the salient aspects of exploration, mining, exporting, import substitution and the role that some of the minerals can play with investment in the downstream sector of the industry.

“We are embarking of the formal establishment of a data base for small scale and artisanal miners that are operating in the field; we will like to register all the individuals involved in the field in order to bring sanity to the sector and address the various security implications. There is a connection between the small scale miners and the rampant banditry going on in the countryside,” he said.