- Locals adore hills, claim they’re huge wealth sources
- It’s all myths, no scientific backing -Geologists
NE of the most visible physical features of the Southwest part of the country is the ubiquitous presence of rocky hills in many communities. These hills have been there from time immemorial.
For some of the communities, these hills have contributed to their economic fortunes by way of revenue from tourism or the aggregates they get from them in commercial quantities.
A section of the community, particularly the youth, is of the view that beyond the aggregates, there are other mineral deposits beneath these hills that could be exploited.
Some foreign investors have taken advantage of the hills by setting up quarry firms in which they engage the youths of the host communities. However, most of the affected youths work under inhuman conditions which oftentimes cause friction between them and the investors.
Sunday Adebayo, one of the youths in Idere, Ibarapa Central, Oyo State, believes that the hills that surround the community if exploited could produce mineral resources.
“With my little knowledge, I know that beneath those rocky hills, there are mineral resources which if exploited could turn around the fortune of this community,” he said.
Aligning himself with Adebayo’s views, Prince Adeoye, a native of Ayete community in Ibarapa North, also expressed optimism that there are fortunes under the hills waiting to be exploited.
Adeoye told our correspondent that the community was not averse to breaking the rocky hills, but because of the closeness of the hills to the residential areas, embarking on such an expedition could amount to a huge risk.
He also said inhabitants of the town would not toy with the idea of blasting the rocky hill because there is a large volume of water under it.
“There is a hill in our community that has water underneath. If you dare break it, the current of the water could sweep the entire Ibarapa away,” Adeoye posited.
On the part of the inhabitants of Otan Ayegbaju, a community in Boluwaduro Local Government Area, Osun State, beyond the presence of mineral deposits under these hills is their historical importance to the town. He said matter of factly that the siting of the town in a valley surrounded by rocks informed by the people’s need for security.
Still, like the people of Idere and Ayete, a section of the town’s dwellers believe that the rocky hills have been left untapped because of fear that the town would be washed away by water.
However, the traditional ruler of the town, in an earlier report, faulted this, saying it was a fable.
He said: “We believe that water cannot overrun Otan if they break the rocky hills. We believe that there is no danger.
“Even if it (danger) exists, those doing the findings will know where to break that would not pose any danger.
“Mind you, we will not allow them, for any reason, to touch where our ancestors are.
“And if they refuse to listen, we know what to do.”
An elder in the town, Bakare Adebiyi, said there had been an attempt to break the rocky hills by a foreigner who believed that there was gold in them. “But he had to stop when he was warned that the gods would be angry and wash the town away.” Adebiyi pleaded with the government to send geologists to the town to carry out research towards unearthing the potential goldmine that may be locked under the rocks. “We are calling on the government to do something because we believe there are several mineral resources under the rocks.
“If the government establishes companies here, the investment will be worthwhile,” he said.
Lending credence to the belief that the hills could be trapping large volumes of water, an indigene of the town, Anthony Fasami, said “nobody has been able to confirm whether there are natural resources under those hills or not. But we heard that there is a huge reserve of water inside the rock.”
However, while the natives continue to debate on whether there are mineral resources in the hills or not, a geologist at the Osun State University, Osogbo, Dr. Tesleem Kolawole, said less attention is paid to mining what is beneath the hills in the country because they are usually granites and gneisses, which are mostly not mineralised.
According to him, they are mainly useful for aggregates for construction purposes, except for special cases where you may find mineral deposits in the rocks.
“In such cases, the mineral deposits may have been weathered and found as alluvial deposits in surrounding streams and river beds. Hence, the need to explore from the surrounding rocks,” Kolawole said.
He stated further that many investors may not be exploring hills for mineral resources because of the cost of exploration and exploitation i.e. a situation where the cost of getting to where the mineral deposits are located within the rocks may be far higher than the expected profit after mining.
“Government policies could also discourage investors because there used to be a lot of bottlenecks in acquiring mining licences from the government, which usually discourage investors to pursue the license,” he argued.
He also said the local factor could be a hindrance which, according to him, may be minor but also important.
“The age-long tradition that the hills are sacred and the locals or land owners may not allow people to trespass is a deterrent to investors,” he said.
He stated further that in some instances, the presence of rocks and mountains has impeded the construction work on major roads. For example, those who constructed Otan-Eripa Road, Osun State, rather than breaking the rocky hill obstructing the road construction, found a way around it.
The general belief has been that any attempt to remove the hill would cause the community to be swept away. But contrary to the views held by natives, that water will sweep the whole community, Kolawole said although most of the rocks can actually produce water because of their secondary porosity (fractures), they cannot sweep the whole community.
“Therefore, with proper planning and construction, even the waters will serve as a plus; hence we talk of mine water drainage and how to recycle them,” he said.
Dr. Jerry Olajide-Kayode, also from the Department of Geological Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, said the cheapest resource to obtain from the hills/rocks is construction aggregates.
“This is what the quarries mine. While there may be some minerals in the rocks, exploiting them is usually expensive and they may also not be in economic quantities,” he said. According to him, minerals such as gold, lead, zinc, columbite, tantalite, tin or even gemstones could be found beneath these rocks and hills.
This, however, he said “is a function of the nature of the rocks that make up the hills, and where they are located.”
The Nation gathered that except for those doing quarry business, little attention is paid to investing in exploiting these hills and rocks because of finance which is a major element.
Mineral exploration is very expensive and very capital intensive. Unlike the relatively quick returns from quarrying, one could go years before making any ROI on mineral exploration. Also, the quantum of studies and tests that needed to be done before quarrying is far, far less than those required for mineral exploration.
Dr. Jerry Olajide-Kayode dismissed the claim that the water from the hills and rocks are capable of swallowing a town/city. He described this as just a myth.
However, he said, water can accumulate in the hills and rocks by seeping into the cracks in it. This could be stored to a reasonable domestic (or sometimes industrial) quantity.
He posited that the road contractors who avoid mountains and rocks while constructing roads are “most likely doing so for economic reasons, that is, what it will cost to remove the rock will be disproportionately more than just constructing the road around it.”
In some communities, despite the need for space, the rocks and hills still remain. But he explained that they remain not only because of the cost of removing them but also as a result of the cultural or traditional beliefs about the rocks.
He advised the government to use the rocks and hills “not only as construction aggregates and for aesthetics (e.g. kitchen counters, table tops, tiles, etc), but exploring their potential to host minerals.
He added that there are also some nice rock exposures that are “textbook” examples and very good teaching aids. These rocks, he said, should be protected and preserved.
Dr. Charles Adebayo Oyelami of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, said oftentimes, the government is more concerned about monetary gains than building a sustainable environment governed by the laws. This, he said, has made many investors lose interest in exploring what is beneath the rocks and the hills.
While disclosing that the government policies and bottlenecks in the acquisition of mining licenses have encouraged more illegal mining, he said “minerals exist in the rocks and not beneath. Availability is dependent on many factors that are geological and based on the kind of environment.
“It is true that beneath rocks we have aquifers (units that store water). With proper planning, however, even the water will serve as a plus.”
Oyelami also said while the spaces for constructing houses may be limited, many may not touch these hills because of the resources required to blast rocks for building purposes, hence it may be more economical to move to places that are more construction friendly.
He said the rocks are great assets to the government if properly harnessed, adding that investment in mining and exploration should be encouraged and incentives given to potential investors.
He also said the superstitions and unnecessary regard for old traditions deter potential investors from quarrying those rocks for aggregates.
He dismissed the belief that huge water volume is trapped in the rocky hills, saying: “No such quantity of water is found within or at the base of those rocks, as they are crystalline rocks with poor porosity and permeability.
“If blasted, the locals will want to physically fight back or use diabolical means because of the preservation of age-long traditions.
Most of the rocks are gneiss and granites and are good for construction aggregates if they are coarse-grained or may be suitable for polishing if they are fine-grained.”
He added that there is no noticeable mineralization in most of those gneisses and granites, adding that if they are not close to residential areas, they can be quarried.