The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, has announced that it will revoke the licenses of landowners whose properties are being exploited by illegal miners.
This statement came in response to a recent mine collapse in Niger State that claimed three lives.
The incident occurred on Thursday around 10 a.m., just two weeks after another mine in Shiroro, Niger State, collapsed, trapping over 50 miners.
According to a statement released on Saturday by Segun Tomori, the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, revealed that preliminary investigations indicated the collapsed mine was within the area covered by Exploration Licence 43113, held by Jurassic Mines Limited in Adunu Village, Paikoro Local Government Area, Niger State.
Alake emphasized that landowners whose properties are mined illegally will lose their titles.
He clarified that an exploration license is only intended to allow an applicant to confirm if a site is suitable for mineral exploration, and does not grant permission for mining activities.
Providing an overview of the Ministry’s response to the incident, Alake noted that they received reports of the accident at around 4:45 p.m. on Thursday.
The reports indicated that three people had died when a tunnel collapsed while they were mining gold at the site. Further investigation confirmed that the miners were operating illegally.
The Ministry quickly dispatched mine officers to the site, who arrived at approximately 6:15 p.m. They found that work had ceased and only onlookers remained. The officers recorded the site’s coordinates and returned to Minna by around 8:30 p.m.
The owners of Jurassic Mines Limited were contacted by phone, but they claimed to be unaware of the activities at the site. They were then summoned to the Ministry’s office in the state capital.
Minister Alake promised to provide updates as new information becomes available.
