Key Points
- Dele Alake warns illegal miners against extracting minerals from abandoned pits without licences.
- Seven miners died after an abandoned pit collapsed in Plateau.
- The minister says investors can repurpose abandoned pits for energy, tourism and fishery projects.
- He says 59 abandoned mine pits have been rehabilitated so far.
Main Story
The Federal Government is seeking private-sector partnerships to reclaim thousands of abandoned mining pits across Plateau State and convert them into productive economic assets.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made the call while responding to the death of seven miners in the collapse of an abandoned tin pit at Kassa in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.
Alake said the incident underscored the dangers posed by abandoned mining sites, particularly when people enter them without the required licences and safety measures.
He urged artisanal miners to obtain permits and operate through cooperatives, saying licensed operators could receive technical training from the ministry and gain access to more sustainable income opportunities.
Beyond preventing further accidents, the minister said the government was exploring ways to give the abandoned sites new economic uses.
According to him, more than 4,000 pits were created by Amalgamated Tin Mines Ltd. and companies that succeeded it, including Consolidated Tin Mines Ltd. and Nigerian Tin and Allied Products Ltd.
He said the sites could be redeveloped for energy generation, tourism and fisheries, with private-sector participation providing a faster route to their rehabilitation and productive use.
The ministry, he said, had already rehabilitated 59 abandoned pits.
Alake also disclosed that the government had begun using satellite-based Geographic Information System mapping and Artificial Intelligence to identify and assess legacy tin pits.
The programme, being piloted in Plateau through partnerships with ImPPPact Nigeria Alliance and Intomatics, is expected to help the government develop workable methods for reclaiming the remaining sites.
The minister directed prospective investors to the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office and the ministry’s Mines and Environmental Compliance Department for information on opportunities in the sector.
He also encouraged investors to explore the Solid Minerals Development Fund’s financing programme.
The government is further developing an Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Fund through which mining companies would contribute towards restoring mine sites where they fail to carry out rehabilitation after closure.
The Issues
The minister said abandoned mine pits posed safety risks and required coordinated efforts to prevent further deaths while also converting the sites into productive assets.
What’s Being Said
“The challenge before the state and the Federal Government is how to turn these potential pits of death into centres of joyful prosperity.” – Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development.
“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 do not do so during closure.” – Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development.
What’s Next
Alake said the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Fund would require mining companies to contribute funds for the rehabilitation of mine pits where operators fail to reclaim them after mine closure.
Bottom Line
The Federal Government is seeking to curb deaths from abandoned mining pits through licensing, rehabilitation, private-sector investment and stronger environmental safeguards.
