‘Kano Gold Souk Will Put Nigeria’s On World Map’

The establishment of the Kano Gold Souk will not only draw International attention to the Nigerian gold potential but also act as a platform to showcase the jewellery market in the country.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said this in Kano during a one-day Stakeholders’ Engagement Workshop on the Establishment of Downstream International Gold Souk,

Represented by the permanent secretary in the Ministry, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, the minister said the purpose of the workshop was to provide participants with adequate knowledge of the concept and vision of the project in order to ensure that it is optimally utilised according to intended purposes and for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Dr. Akinlade noted that the establishment of the Gold Souk is a win-win for both the stakeholders and the government, as it would help bring to limelight indigenously produced gold and shore up revenue for the government.

She urged all participants to pay keen attention to the resource persons during the workshop, as it will help to prepare stakeholders adequately to play expected roles in the success of the project to the glory of God and for posterity.

The director, Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM), Yunusa Mohammed stated that artisanal and small scale mining has been known to provide jobs and livelihoods to a great number of people around the world.

He disclosed that, globally, an estimated 40 million people are engaged in the sector producing more than one-fifth of the world’s gold, tin and tantalum supplies as well as accounting for more than 80 percent of global supply of gemstones, especially sapphire, emerald, tourmaline, aquamarine, topaz, and so on.

He further stated that a significant portion of Nigeria’s mineral production comes from artisanal and small-scale miners, with the subsector believed to provide livelihood opportunities to about 2,000,000 Nigerians, who mostly use inappropriate or crude methods and very rudimentary tools to exploit mineral deposits.

Mohammed revealed that despite the Ministry’s efforts in ensuring that regulations and mechanisms are put in place to develop the ASM subsector in the country, the sector is still largely informal, with most operators engaging in illegal mining, smuggling of minerals, and generally causing social conflicts in host communities.

He noted that poorly regulated ASM affects national economic development and security, creates pollution and general degradation of the environment as well as smuggling, social disruption, child labour, influx of illegal migrants and the outbreak of diseases due to poor sanitary environment under which mining camps thrive.

He said that through the instrumentality of the Economic Sustainability Plan of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, the Ministry initiated and implemented the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Cluster Development Project. This, he stated, led to the establishment of an International Gold Souk in Batakaye Village, Kumbotso LGA, Kano State.

He expressed optimism that the workshop organised for stakeholders drawn from both the public and private sectors will address the present issues militating against the development of ASM as well as enable smooth transition from informal and illegal mining to more formalised, organised and sustainable mining ventures.

In his remarks, the chairman, Miners Association of Nigeria, Kano State, Mallam Yahaya Kulu, lauded the federal government through the Ministry of Mines for siting the Gold Souk in Kano, saying it is an indication that miners in Kano are law abiding and not illegal, just as he pledged the Association’s unalloyed commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the Gold Souk.