No fewer than 150 participants drawn from Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states attended a five-day training programme tagged “Extension Services to Artisanal and Small-scale Miners” in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
The training programme was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. The workshop provided technical knowledge and competence on mining for the participants to improve their skills and boost the economy of the state and the country.
In his address, the team leader of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to the workshop, Engr. Olabisi Mojoyinola, said the Federal Government has recognised the importance of mining to national economy.
Mojoyinola, who represented the ministry’s Director of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining, Mr. Patrick Ojeka, said the Federal Government has adopted a strategy termed formalisation through “Co-operation” to address the artisanal mining issues and to use it as an instrument to address poverty in the host mining communities in the rural areas.
He further said in spite of inherent problems associated with informal mining, the artisanal and small-scale mining is a livelihood strategy adopted primarily to alleviate poverty in rural areas in most countries and “when properly organized, it can contribute to the socio-economic development at the grassroots.”
Speaking further, he said: “Section 91 of the Mineral and Mining Act 2007 provides for extension services for registered and performing mining co-operatives, quarrying association and small-scale mining companies. Government, therefore, is expected to provide extension service programmes for the miners.
“Prospecting and exploration services should be provided for to determine the geological setting, structure and nature of occurrences, quantity and quality of minerals being mined. Government should provide mineral testing standard and determination of mineral grades and provide proven mineral reserves evaluation, including feasibility reports. Government should also assist small-scale miners on mine design and planning suitable for the deposit.”
In his goodwill message, the Chairman of the Osun Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Chief Babatunde Falohun, urged the Federal Government to recognise the place of mining in boosting national economy.
Falohun, a geologist, maintained that mining could provide an opportunity for the government to diversify the economy.
Also, a mining consultant, Engr. Garuba Bida, advised the government to sanitise the mining sector in order to maximise its benefits for the individuals, communities, states and the country. The representative of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel in Osun State, Engr. Umar Kabir, who acknowledged the role of technology in mining exploration, said the workshop was designed to expose participants to trending methods and skills in the mining sector.
Speaking at the opening session before declaring the workshop open, the Osun State Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, promised to make mining of mineral resources found in the state work for the development of the people and the host communities. The governor said rejuvenation of the mining sector of the state economy is a major cardinal programme of his administration.
Represented by the Executive Secretary, Office of the Forestry and Natural Resources, Mr. Simeon Lanlehin, the governor said his interest in the mining sector is based on its potential for its prosperity multiplier effect and huge labour employer.
Stressing that the training programme will ginger the participants to be more active on the field, Oyetola said mining could create employment opportunities for teeming young population in the state.
The governor, who said the objective of the workshop is to provide technical competence for stakeholders in the mining sector of the state economy, lamented that illegal activities of some miners have become inimical to the environment and exposes the people in “our communities to serious health hazards.”
Oyetola revealed that gold is the most mined natural resource by artisanal and small-scale miners in the state whose activities are majorly unprofessional, unregulated, unsafe and unprofitable to government.
He, therefore, pledged support for the Federal Government to make mining take the country to the next level, saying Osun and many other states are blessed with abundant mineral resources, including gold.