FG moves to repurpose over 4,000 abandoned mine pits for economic projects

The Federal Government (FG) has begun moves to transform more than 4,000 abandoned mine pits in Plateau State into productive assets for energy, tourism and fishery projects, following the death of seven illegal miners at an abandoned tin mine in Kassa, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, said the government was seeking private-sector partnerships to convert the abandoned pits, many of which were created by Amalgamated Tin Mines Limited and its successor companies, Consolidated Tin Mines Limited and Nigerian Tin and Allied Products Limited, into centres of economic activity.

The statement was signed by Lara Owoeye-Wise, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, on behalf of the ministry.

Reacting to the collapse of the abandoned mine pit at Kassa, which occurred at an unlicensed mining site and claimed seven lives, Alake warned artisanal miners against extracting minerals from abandoned pits without the required licences.

ALSO READ: How Dele Alake is rewriting Nigeria’s mining story

He said the tragedy could have been avoided if the miners had formed a cooperative and obtained the appropriate permit, which would have enabled them to benefit from field training provided by the ministry’s Artisanal Mining Department while securing a legitimate source of income.

The minister commiserated with the government and people of Plateau State over the incident and urged artisanal miners across the country to learn from the tragedy.

He said the government’s immediate challenge was to convert abandoned mine pits from death traps into productive assets.

“The challenge before the state and the Federal Government is how to turn these potential pits of death into centres of joyful prosperity,” Alake said.

According to him, the government is particularly interested in investors willing to repurpose the abandoned pits for energy generation, tourism and fisheries, stressing that private-sector collaboration remained the fastest and most proactive way to unlock the economic potential of the sites.

Alake disclosed that the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development had so far rehabilitated 59 abandoned mine pits as part of efforts to address the environmental and safety risks associated with abandoned mining operations.

To further de-risk investment and accelerate the rehabilitation process, he said the ministry had commenced a strategic initiative to deploy advanced Geographic Information System (GIS) satellite mapping and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify and characterise the thousands of legacy tin pits in Plateau State.

He said the initiative was being implemented through a public-private partnership with ImPPPact Nigeria Alliance, alongside geomatics specialist, Intomatics, with Plateau State serving as the pilot beneficiary.

The minister urged investors interested in transforming the abandoned pits to direct enquiries to the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office and the ministry’s Mines and Environmental Compliance Department, as well as explore the funding programme of the Solid Minerals Development Fund.

Alake also disclosed that the ministry had activated the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Fund to ensure that mining companies take responsibility for rehabilitating mine sites after operations.

He said the initiative was designed to prevent the recurrence of abandoned mine pits and ensure that mining operators make financial provisions for environmental rehabilitation.

“Very soon, we shall conclude discussions with the fund managers. Thenceforth, mining companies must pay to the Fund so that it can rehabilitate mine pits if the companies don’t do so during closure,” he said.