There are many dimensions to the gold mining business in Zamfara state which are not in public domain. SANUSI MUHAMMAD in this report reveals some details.
Gold mining in Zamfara state has became a source of income not only to some persons in the state but thousands of people from neighbouring states like Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Kaduna. However, findings reveal that gold mining activities kicked-started properly in the state between 2008 and 2010 by some local miners. As a result of this, thousands of people from far and near penetrated into the state to earn a living through local gold mining exploration.
Influential persons are also involved
Investigation by the Blueprint reveals that some highly influential and prominent personalities that include persons like former military Head of state, Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd), former minister of defence, Gen Aliyu Gusau (rtd), some politicians, traditional rulers in the state are alleged to be fully involved in gold mining business in the state, a situation which would be difficult for the government to attain her desired objectives of generating revenue. This is to the extent that the business has been going on without anything accruing to the federation pursue.
Report says that mining activities have been going on for over 10 years in the state illegally without licences from the federal government. Governor Yari while fielding questions from journalists last year said the problem also denied the government any commission as its source of generating revenue directly or indirectly. In 2017, report indicated that the federal government lost about N3.23 trillion equivalent to $9billion in revenue accruable from gold exports due to the activities of illegal miners across the country, including Zamfara.
Finding revealed further that the federal government had issued official licenses between 2009 to 2010 to over 1,000 indigenous companies for gold mining in the state and other part of the country, but majority of those companies have been operating without paying money to the federal government.
Gold mining: any link with banditry?
Investigation has shown that gold mining in Zamfara is found in the local government areas of Maru, Anka, Talata Mafara, Bungudu, Bukkukyyum and Gusau and in Maru which houses two old gold mines. These are the Duki mine and old gold mine in Mararaba which is a two sub-parallel quartz veins system; while in Anka, there are another minor ones such as Kwali, Jameson, Zuzzurfa and Kuba, Bagega, Dareta and Yargalma hosted by schist, phyllites and quartzites of the schist belts.
Zamfara also is blessed with gold occurrence in Malele which is the extreme southern part of the Maru schist belt. The mineral in this location based on the finding was said to have been discovered in 1934 with the most prominent of the veins being 1.5m thick, 370m long and a grade of about 30ppm Au respectively. The recent finding by the federal government that all mining sites in the state have link with banditry was as a result of the fact that between 2017 and 2018, local miners in some mining sites were allegedly said to be conniving with bandits to kidnap and carry out other heinous acts in the state.
In line with the ban, Yari, at a parley with newsmen in Gusau recently, commended the federal government for its immediate ban of all mining activities in the state, saying the step would go a long way at curtailing the security threats that had faced the state for over seven years. He said his administration is ready to partner with all relevant stakeholders and authorities to end the menace.
This is not the first time the government would ban mining activities in the state. On 30 May 2017, the state government said it closed down over 50 mining sites operating illegally with a view to meeting up new mining policies to be introduced through collaboration with federal government and fight against criminals attached to some major mining sites in the state.
Then commissioner for environment and solid mineral development, Alh Idris Keta, had announced this while reacting to the petition against the state government by one Inta General Mining Enterprises Company over the occupation of its mining site by the police on the instructions of the state government at Tungar Lada village in Talata-Mafara local government area of the state.
The commissioner said high-powered delegations visited the state from the federal government to discuss the lingering obstacles facing mining activities, stressing that the closure of the mining sites across the state was the beginning of the new modalities.
The commissioner said his ministry deemed it necessary to deploy police personnel to close the Tungar Lada Mining site for security reason having realised that the labourers engage in fights which often lead to loss of lives. He also said the state government was yet to recover from the crises caused by lead poison where thousands of lives and property were lost. “We cannot allow a new crisis to start. That was why we closed down Inta General Enterprises Mining exploration Company and other 49 mining sites and it will remain so until the new system is actualised, “he maintained.
Aftermath of recent ban
A local miner, Malam Yakubu Muhammadu, who hails from Kebbi state told Blueprint that he had lived in Zamfara for more than 15 years where he engages in local gold mining business but lamented that the recent ban by the federal government has rendered him and hundreds of persons jobless, saying their businesses have nothing to do with banditry as alleged by the government. According to him, on November 7, 2016 armed bandits invaded their mining sites in Bindin village of Maru local government area and killed over 40 local miners. “Just imagine how we lost over 40 people within two hours from bandits’ nefarious activities but no one talked about it.”
Malam Yakubu further pointed out that majority of the local miners are youths who do not have Western education. He said the ban would increase criminalities not only in Zamfara but other neighbouring states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Kaduna. He revealed that with gold mining business, many of them acquired houses, got married with children. According to him, before the closure of all the mining sites, he gets not less than N500,000 per annum but lamented that life is gradually getting difficult not only for him but for majority of his colleagues.
Another miner, Malam Lawali Abu of Dareta village of Anka local government said he left his Dareta village to Gusau due to the recent ban. According to him, he has no other business other than gold mining, adding that life has become tough as he usually finds it difficult to take care of his family.
“Every day, before the closure of all mining sites, I get not less than N4,500 and I have two wives, eleven children currently under me but now I am only getting better N500 or N600 per day as a water vendor here in Gusau.”
Have foreigners vacated sites?
Speaking with Blueprint over the development last Sunday, the commissioner for environment and solid minerals development, Alhaji Mukhtar Lugga, said all local miners have complied with the order of the federal government and vacated from respective mining sites in the state. He said his ministry is working round the clock to ensure that no one breaches the government directive.
“We all know that suspending mining activities in Zamfara state by the federal government was not unconnected with the recent proliferation of armed banditry, kidnapping and other heinous activities against innocent citizens of our dear state by some undesirable elements, so God willing, relative peace would soon be restored in the state,” he said.
He, however, maintained that before now, there were no foreign miners as far as the state government is concerned but said only local ones were operating illegally before the federal government banned of all forms of mining activities in the state.
“We don’t have record of foreigners engaged in gold mining activities in Zamfara state; the only ones we have are some indigenous licensed companies and other local miners who were operating illegally, so, I don’t have any information about foreigners at all,” Lugga stated.
