Nasarawa State Government has sealed and cordoned the mining site of Trimadix Geomin Consult Limited, a lithium mining firm, with security personnel for operating without the consent of Community and the State Government’s approval.
The State Government also arrested the manager of the Lithium Company, for violating Mining Rules and operating illegally in the State.
Amba-Kure Community in Kokona Local Government Area of the State is the Mining site of Trimadix Geomin Consult, reportedly having large deposit of lithium in the State.
It will be recalled that yhe firm’s Mining site was sometime this year shut down for not following laid down procedure of operation.
Yakubu Kwanta, Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources, had on Sunday led a combined team of Security Agencies, consisting of men of the Nigeria Police, Department of Security Services (DSS), and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on the operation to the illegal Mining site.
Speaking to newsmen after the operation, Kwanta explained that the Mining site was earlier shut down, after several warnings to the firm to follow due process, hence, the company’s manager was arrested.
He said that, the firm was shut down in June 2024, for operating without Cpmmunity consent as well as State Government’s approval.
“Instead of the Management of the company visiting our office to address the problem and follow the laid down regulations of Mining in the State, they went behind to continue operation. We got information that they entered the site in the night and started blasting. That is why we mobilized and stormed the place immediately.
“We are told that, they are bragging that, they have the backing of some prominent persons in the country and that no one, not even the state government cannot stop them from operating. We will no longer tolerate any act of economic sabotage capable of denying us the desired revenue and thereby constituting a security threat to us in the state”, Kwanta said.
He added that Governor Abdullahi Sule had directed the Ministry to go after illegal miners and to flush out criminals within the sector. He lamented the connivance of some highly-placed persons with some of the Mining firms to undermine the efforts of the State Government to sanitise the sector.
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