The Federal Government has said that \u00a0two illegal mining companies- Solid
\nUnit Limited and Geotess Nigeria Limited that were shut down in Zurak,
\nWase Local Government Area of Plateau State last month, had illegally
\ntaken out minerals worth over N100 billion, in the past few years they
\nhave been involved in illegal activities in the area.<\/p>\n
The Minister of Mines and steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi disclosed
\nthis during a meeting with staff of the ministry in Abuja recently.<\/p>\n
Sixteen Chinese nationals and eight Nigerians involved in massive illegal
\nmining were arrested in Zurak, on August 15 at the wake of the shutting
\ndown of the two companies on the orders of the National Security Adviser
\n(NSA), Major-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd), and the Minister when the duo
\nvisited some illegal mining sites in the richly endowed lead\/zinc belt.<\/p>\n
The Chairman of Solid Unit Limited, Alhaji Usman Abubakar (aka Dan China)
\nwho is regarded as the most notorious illegal miner in the State was also
\ndeclared wanted by the NSA, who ordered all security agencies to arrest
\nhim for acts seen as economic sabotage.<\/p>\n
Dr Fayemi, in the meeting attended by all cadre of the workers in the
\nministry, said the huge scale of \u00a0illegal mining by the two companies in
\nWase was tantamount to economic terrorism, adding that government was
\ndetermined to confront anyone or group that are out to sabotage the
\neconomy through illegal mining and other means.<\/p>\n
He said the scale of illegal mining perpetrated by the two blacklisted
\ncompanies and their foreign collaborators was humongous, stressing that
\nthey used very sophisticated equipment, including a tunnel with rail track
\nand other heavy machines for their illegal operations.<\/p>\n
He said the arrested Nigerians have been in active connivance with
\nforeigners to carry out massive illegal mining in the state thereby
\ndepriving the country of revenue. \u201cTheir unwholesome activities have also
\nled to environmental degradation and abandoned mine pits.\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
He said the leadership of the ministry carried out the operation that led
\nto the closure of the illegal mining companies\/sites and the arrest in a
\ndiscreet manner, because of the massive network of collaborators and
\ninformants at the disposal of the companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to leave anything to chance, so it was done discreetly\u201d,
\nhe said, adding that it was a successful operation, which according to him
\nhad also restored sanity to the area, which had been under the siege of
\nillegal miners and criminal elements for some years.<\/p>\n
The arrested Nigerians and their foreign collaborators, according to him,
\nhave been handed over to the newly inaugurated Mines Division of the
\nNigerian Police for prosecution.<\/p>\n
In response to a question by one of the workers, Dr Fayemi said the
\nministry would adopt its own whistle blowing arrangement in order to
\nencourage more information on illegal mining activities in the sector.<\/p>\n
The Minister, however added that the ministry would continue to guide and
\nprovide both technical and financial supports genuine artisanal and small
\nscale miners, who abide by the rules and regulations guiding the sector.<\/p>\n
Zurak is a key location of substantial mineral deposits notably lead,
\nzinc, copper, tin, wolframite, tantalite and other base metals. Over time
\nthe range of illegal mining activities have been recorded around the area
\nleading to the wanton loss of revenue, minable land and social
\ndisplacement of the rural communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Federal Government has said that \u00a0two illegal mining companies- Solid Unit Limited and Geotess Nigeria Limited that were shut down in Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n