The treasure is solid mineral. It is a sad story; an unpalatable one. You probably must have read or heard the story before. But it is not an overkill to tell it over and over again. Siaka MOMOH brings you a detailed account of a tragic tale, an upsetting one.
The Taraba example
E.D. Oruonye/Y, M.Ahmed’s research article titled ‘Challenges and prospects of mining of solid mineral resources in Taraba State, Nigeria’ is a clear representation of the state of health of the solid mineral industry in Nigeria. These academics are of the Department of Geography, Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State.
They stated in their abstract to the research: “Taraba state is one of the states in Nigeria that is well endowed with different kinds of solid mineral resources that is untouched and yet to be prospected. Some of these mineral resources have been explored and worked on in the past decades. Mining in Taraba state is dominated by artisanal and small scale miners…The findings of the study show that large quantities of this mineral ore deposits have been mined out in the state resulting in large numbers of abandoned mine sites as a result of past mineral exploration /exploitation in the form of test pits, lotos and open ponds.
According to these dons, the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development reported 192 titles issued out from Taraba state in 2012 and 77 in 2015. Some of the challenges, they said, include the fact that most of the mineral occurrences were just reported and that the real evaluation of the grade of mineral ore or the reserve estimates were never carried out.
They further stated that most of the mining operations were illegal and not known to government officials. For them, “This makes it difficult for the government to monitor their operations and also to enforce environmental regulations on them.” Other challenges, according to the abstract, include lack of mining equipment, predominance of artisanal and small scale miners, poor technical capacity, lack of capital, poor database, poor infrastructures and accessibility among others.
Lastly, the academics said “The Federal government is working hard to simplify the process of acquiring mining licence by creating an online web portal to facilitate the application and payment process. It is expected that with improvement in the mining policy in the country, more companies and individuals would apply for a mining licence in the state. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made; provision of capital by way of soft loan, tax holidays for mining firm and synergy between Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel and the State Bureau of Solid Mineral Resources.”
Why monoculture?
It is a sad story; a very sad one. The Nigerian economy is monoculture, one that is largely dependent on revenue earned from the oil sector. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the sector accounts for over 95 per cent of export earnings and about 40 per cent of government revenues.
The tag ‘major exporter of oil’ placed on Nigeria, one that is making us giddy and which has given rise to corrupt government officials and business barons, amounts to nothing since Nigeria produces only about 2.7 per cent of the world’s supply. Though ranked as 15th in production at 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd), the top three producers Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States produce 10.7 mbpd (11.8 percent), 9.8 mbpd (12.0 percent), and 8.5 mbpd (11.1 percent )respectively, collectively accounting for 63.6 mbpd (44 percent ) of the world’s total production. These are 2013 figures. Latest figures have not changed significantly. Currently, these three produce 12.0, 15.0 and 10.8 mbpd respectively (US is now leading producer) whilst Nigeria’s is 1.9 mbpd, down from 2.2 mbpd.
In total, oil revenues, put at an estimated export rate of 1.9, with a projected sales price of $65 per barrel in 2011, Nigeria’s anticipated revenue from petroleum was about $52.2 billion. This accounted for less than 14 percent of official GDP figures (and dropped to 10 percent when the informal economy is included in these calculations). What this means in effect is that though the petroleum sector is important, it is an infinitesimal part of the country’s economy whose other constituents are agriculture, solid minerals, services (the non-oil sector).
Read also; Here is what Nigeria can learn from Vietnams $245n non oil export success
Non-Oil sector
This is the crust of the story here. The Non-oil sector is suffering from neglect. In 2009 for instance, the sector was hit by setback as the total income generated from its export from January to September stood at US$900 million (N140.3 billion) while total amount that accrued to the country in 2008 was US$1.9 billion (N296.1 billion) amounting to a drop of 138 per cent in non-export earnings. In the same vein, according to Central Bank of Nigeria’s Q2 Economic Report, the total non-oil export earnings by Nigerian exporters in the second quarter of 2010 fell by 56.4 percent to US$297.2 million (N46.3 billion) from the level in the preceding quarter.
According to Peter Onwualu, director-general/chief executive officer, Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Nigeria enjoys comparative advantage to produce and supply a myriad of non-oil products to other African countries, including ECOWAS countries, USA and other developed countries. Explaining why Nigeria is not doing well with non-oil exports, he said: “Nigeria is yet to exploit this comparative advantage to a meaningful non-oil economic growth”.
Neglected treasure
The non-oil product in question in our story here is solid minerals. The problem in the sector is of public knowledge. Small scale artisanal miners dominate solid mineral mining. They account for between 90 and 95 percent of the output of the Nigerian solid minerals sector. They are often unlicensed, illegal operators. In other words, they are informal operators. Independent research puts Nigeria’s informal economy at between 65 and 70 percent of GNP or GNI. Nigerian labour source says 90 percent of new jobs are accounted for by the informal sector and that the sector is responsible for 80 percent of all non-agriculture employment and 60 percent of urban jobs. The solid mineral sector belongs here.
Crude operation method
It is no news that it is tough capturing data of activities in the informal sector. What this means is loss of vital revenue to government. When the number of miners are not known, it is difficult to plan the sector, it is difficult to organise the sector, it is difficult to successfully introduce modern mining technology into the sector that will make miners operate in a safe environment. It was the crude method of operation, unregulated bunch of mining operatives, that was responsible for the calamity experienced and perhaps still being experienced in Zamfara State to date. The case in point is the death of about 200 people in Zamfara from lead poisoning, arising from unregulated artisanal mining. Recall the academics’ findings cited earlier, the corroboration is clear.
Lead poisonings
According to reports, lead poisonings in Zamfara State led to the deaths of at least 163 people between March and June 2010, including 111 children. Health ministry figures state the discovery of 355 cases, with 46 percent proving fatal. An annual immunization programme in the northern part of Nigeria led to the discovery of a high number of child deaths in the area. An investigation showed that they had been digging for gold at the times of their deaths, in an area where lead is prevalent. It was thought by the villagers that all the children had contracted malaria but Médecins Sans Frontières found unusually high levels of lead in the blood during tests. The BBC suggested the contamination of water may have contributed to the high mortality rate. Blacksmith Institute was called in by the Nigerian authorities to assist in the removal of toxic lead.
It is believed that the poisonings are caused by the illegal extraction of ore by villagers, who take crushed rock home with them to extract. This results in the soil being contaminated from lead which then poisons people through hand-to-mouth contamination. Others have been contaminated by contact with contaminated tools and water.
To halt the epidemic the authorities are clamping down on illegal mining and carrying out a clean-up of the area. The number of cases dropped when illegal mining in the area was halted and some of the residents were evacuated. Education on health and the dangers of lead mining is also being given to local people. Those who died came from several villages. Five villages in the Local Government Areas of Anka and Bungudu were affected. All five villages were evacuated by the Nigerian health authorities.
Two treatment camps were established by health authorities to deal with the crisis. The World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières and Blacksmith Institute assisted with the epidemic.
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Need for support
One thing is clear here, artisanal miners need support, organisation and regulation, not just cash hand-outs from the ministry. They must be empowered and incorporated into the value chain of mineral production and marketing. The World Bank granted a credit of $120 million for the sustainable development of our mining sector. What has happened to the fund, nobody knows. Government responsibility must not stop at licensing private sector participants but must also include the provision of more accurate geological information about our mineral resources.
There have been reports in the media of unwholesome activities by the Chinese engaged in solid minerals mining in Nigeria. One will want to believe that the Ministry of Solid Minerals is listening and addressing the issue.
Oby Ezekwesili/Fayemi
It would be recalled that the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development under Oby Ezekwesili, accelerated its Geological Survey Agency to invest more in this area. There is an urgent need to strengthen the Mining Cadastre Office and its freedom from ministerial and political interference is necessary if confidence must be given to investors on the security of their licences and the policy environment. Government must ease the acquisition of titles to land for mining licences. Kayode Fayemi, Buhari’s erstwhile Minister of Solid Minerals Development, came up with an agenda whose main focus was to re-position mining activities in the country and ensure that the sector contributed a double-digit growth to the economy within a decade. He didn’t wait to execute his ambitious agenda because he had his eyes on the chief executive seat in Ekiti State where he currently calls the shot.
