FG declare war on illegal miners, says continue illicit activities will attract stiff penalties

Federal Mines Officer in charge of Kogi State, Engineer Mrs B.F Kuye gave the warning at the opening of a meeting between miners in Kogi State and the ministry.

Engineer Kuye who expressed appreciation to miners who turned out for the program said she has witnessed a lot of atrocities within the time frame of six months.

She said the forum is to avail miners the privilege to deliberate on issues bothering their business and chat a new course for progress.

Engineer Kuye warned that her office would never support illegality in the sector.

The Federal Mines Officer in charge of Kogi State also advised miners to always consult the office for guidelines in their operations particularly those who make use of explosives.

Engineer Kuye also emphasized that a task force has been constituted against illegal miners, professional blunders and defaulters in payment of royalties.

She advised miners to always seek the consent of traditional rulers in the area of their interest and approach the office for license and guidance to avoid financial loss and causalities.

Engineer Kuye advised miners not to fail in their cooperate responsibilities to the society and avoid being cornered by traditional rulers with selfish interest.

She called for the restructure of the Miners Association in Kogi State to make it more vibrant and responsive to issues bothering the members saying the issue of multiple taxation can be resolved if the association is well structured.

Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Samuel Alabi said the meeting is to create avenue to cross fertilize ideas for future progress.

Mr Alabi who noticed the absence of foreign miners at the meeting appealed to federal government to stick to rules of operation in the sector for cohesive organization.

According to him, most of the foreign miners obtain licenses from Abuja as against the normal procedure of consulting the traditional rulers and the office at the state level.

Similarly, the Guest speaker at the occasion, Engineer Aransiola said the meeting should be done periodically to abreast miners of current development.

According to him, over fifty five percent of mining cases require the use of explosives and advised miners to always pass through the normal channel for safe operations.

He emphasized the need to eradicate illegal miners in the system in order to earn good name in the state and beyond saying illegal miners are destructive to ecological system.

In his presentation, a member of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mr Komezino said the use of explosives is a critical aspect of the mining sector and appealed to miners to seek the advice of security and expert before dabbling into explosives.

Similarly Mrs Esther John who spoke on ” Uses of Explosives in Mining and General Mining Operations” advised those in the business to always abide by the rules by having physical guides, CCTv as well as avoidance of strangers at their site.

Also speaking, the Mines Environmental Compliance, Engineer Olaitan Ezekiel said miners who does not respect environmental laws would be sanctioned.

He said mining can bring development to a place and could as well be source of problems when things are not done the right way.

In her remarks as well, the representative of Women in Mining, Mrs Janet Ahiaba suggested a review of the licenses of miners with site beyond their capacity to operate to create room for those with interest in the business.