Gov. Darius Isiaku of Taraba on Tuesday advised mining title holders to access Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) from his state before mining, to avoid disruption of their operation.
Isiaku gave the advice at the ongoing second Nigeria Mining Week, organized by the Miners Association of Nigeria, in partnership with IPAD Nigeria, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Spintelligent in Abuja.
He expressed displeasure over mining title holders from Abuja who engaged in mining in the state without permission or notifying the authorities.
“I will no longer tolerate this attitude of mining title holders from Abuja venturing into my state to conduct mining without informing the state authority or access C of O before commencing mining.
“I am aware that mining is on the exclusive list, that means minerals in all the states belong to the Federal Government but government should also remember that the land belongs to the state as well,” he said.
He said any mining title holder that refused to take permission or access C of O would not be allowed to mine in Taraba henceforth.
According to him, Taraba is blessed with 50 different types of minerals but they were being mined illegally, urging the Federal Government to address illegal mining as a matter of urgency.
Also Gov. Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State, said it became imperative not to underestimate the risks and difficulties associated with the solid minerals development.
El-rufai, who was represented by Mrs Amina Sijuade, Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, said huge capital requirements, long gestation period, the shortage of right skills, unavailability of accurate and reliable data, should be addressed for Nigeria to achieve economic growth.
The President of Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Shehu Sani, lauded the current crack down on illegal miners, saying that this had encouraged more miners to invest in the sector, adding that government should sustain the exercise.
He also advised government to gear up for the impending boom in lead and lithium, following plans by some western countries to embrace renewable energy.
“We have an advantage because renewable energy is about lead and lithium and other metals which we have in abundance; Federal Government should put in place a strategy for the coming boom.” (NAN)