The Federal Government has begun moves to turn more than 4,000 abandoned mining pits across Plateau State into productive economic assets, following the death of seven people in the collapse of an old tin mine at Kassa, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.
File photo of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Lara Owoeye-Wise, while reacting to the Kassa tragedy.
Alake said the abandoned pits were created during years of tin mining by Amalgamated Tin Mines Limited and its successor companies, Consolidated Tin Mines Limited and Nigerian Tin and Allied Products Limited.
Rather than allowing the sites to remain dangerous remnants of past mining activities, the minister said the government wants them assessed and repurposed for ventures including energy, tourism and fishery.
He called for private-sector participation, describing collaboration with investors as the most practical way to convert the abandoned sites into productive assets.
The minister said the government had already rehabilitated 59 abandoned mining pits, while a broader initiative is being developed to determine the location and condition of the thousands of remaining sites.
As part of that effort, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development is deploying Geographic Information System satellite mapping and Artificial Intelligence to identify and accurately characterise the legacy pits.
The project is being implemented through a public-private partnership involving ImPPPact Nigeria Alliance and geomatics specialist Intomatics, with Plateau State selected as the pilot location. The technology is expected to help authorities determine appropriate approaches for reclaiming the sites.
The latest government initiative followed the Kassa mine collapse in which seven people died after an abandoned pit gave way on Wednesday.
Alake described the incident as a tragedy that could have been avoided, arguing that the victims would have had access to government training and a more structured source of income if they had organised themselves as a cooperative and obtained the required mining permits.
He consequently warned artisanal miners against entering abandoned pits to extract minerals without authorisation and urged miners across the country to take the Kassa deaths as a serious warning.
The minister also said the government was working to prevent mining companies from leaving similar hazards behind when their operations end.
According to him, an Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Fund is being established to ensure that money is available for the restoration of mining sites where operators fail to rehabilitate them at closure.
Alake said mining companies would subsequently be required to contribute to the fund, which would provide resources for rehabilitation where necessary.
For investors interested in the abandoned sites, the minister directed enquiries to the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office and the Ministry’s Mines and Environmental Compliance Department. He also encouraged prospective investors to explore financing available through the Solid Minerals Development Fund.
The Federal Government’s approach therefore combines two immediate objectives: preventing further deaths around abandoned mine sites and finding productive uses for land left behind by decades of mining activity.
The Kassa collapse has brought the safety problem into sharper focus, while the proposed reclamation programme could provide a longer-term response to the environmental and economic challenges posed by Plateau State’s extensive legacy mining sites.
