By Andy Asemota
Member Representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Sen. Oseni Yakubu, has called on the Senate to okay the establishment of Solid Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission to tackle the tide of paltry revenue and environmental degradation ravaging the country.

Yakubu, a former Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, also suggested that Nigeria should allow solid minerals to offer a viable alternative to petroleum for foreign exchange earnings because globally, the mining industry had been a close rival to petroleum industry. All these and many other issues he examined while leading the debate on the floor of the Senate on the bid for an Act to establish Solid Mineral Areas Commission last week.

Need For Solid Minerals Commission

This Bill was read for the first time in this Hallowed Chamber on Wednesday, 5th May, 2021. The Bill seeks to provide for the accelerated development of the Nigerian Solid Mineral Sector so as to diversify the Nigerian Economy and reduce the over-dependence on the dwindling Oil Revenue.

I make bold to say that Nigeria is richly endowed with solid minerals of various categories ranging from precious metals to various precious stones and industrial minerals. The Nigerian Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (NEITI) reported that there are approximately 40 different kinds of solid minerals and precious metals buried in Nigerian soil waiting to be exploited.

Goals of the Bill
The objective of this Bill includes, but is not limited to: Formulation of policies and guidelines for development of the mineral producing areas; Conception, planning and implementation, in accordance with set rules and regulations, of projects and programmes for sustainable development of minerals producing areas in the field of transportation including roads, health, employment, industrialisation, agriculture and fisheries, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications;

Surveying the mineral producing areas, in order to ascertain measures necessary to promote its physical and Socio- economic development; Preparing master plans schemes designed to promote physical development of the minerals producing areas and the estimation of the member states of the commission; and Implementation of all measures approved for the development of Minerals Producing Areas by the Federal Government and the member states of the Commission.

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Hazards of Mining to Health
The mining sector is responsible for some of the largest releases of heavy metals into the environment of any industry. It also releases other air pollutants including sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in addition to leaving behind tons of waste tailings, slag and acid drainage. Occupational and environmental exposure to heavy metals, silica and asbestos can occur during mining and milling operations. The smelting process (extracting the metal from the ore) is associated with the highest exposures and environmental releases.

The hazards to human health caused by exposure to heavy metals – including lead, cadmium and mercury – have been thoroughly documented by experts. These metals are associated with a range of neurological deficits in both children and adults in addition to a range of other systemic effects. Exposure to airborne silica and asbestos can cause lung cancer, pneumoconiosis and numerous other health effects.

More commonly, small- scale gold mining utilizes significant quantities of mercury to extract gold from ore. Exposure to mercury in these operations not only endangers miners and families, but is also detrimental to the environment when deposited into the water supply which cannot be avoided.

Employment Opportunities in Mining Sector
Artisanal gold mining employs an estimated 10 – 15 million miners in more than 55 countries. Estimates are that these small operations produce about 20 per cent of the world’s gold supply.

According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), small-scale gold processing operations in developing countries employ one million children. Children, who are more susceptible to the impacts of heavy metals, tend to have higher exposures and generally account for the majority of deaths and disease associated with mass poisoning incidents from these operations.

Studies have documented that children involved in mining have higher exposures to mercury, lead, and other metals and suffer severe lead and mercury intoxication.

Impact of Mining on Environment
Mining is an inherently invasive process that can cause damage to a landscape in an area much larger than the mining site itself. The effects of this damage can continue years after a mine has shut down, including the addition to greenhouse gases, death of flora and fauna, and erosion of land and habitat.
Most modern mining techniques have high water demands for extraction, processing and waste disposal.

Wastewater from these processes can pollute water sources nearby and deplete freshwater supplies in the region surrounding areas near the mines thus the need for a special agency to cushion in the effect of the environmental degradation which affects farming and other activities in most mining areas as can be visibly seen in many mining sites across Nigeria.
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