Mining Experts Seek Stronger Community Relations, Local Gemstone Processing

Mining industry stakeholders have called for stronger engagement with host communities and increased local processing of gemstones to promote sustainable mining, create jobs and maximise the economic benefits of Nigeria’s mineral resources.

They said mining companies must build trust with host communities from the exploration stage, while investing in skills development, gemstone processing and branding to support long-term economic growth.

The stakeholders spoke during separate panel sessions on Wednesday at the three-day Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja, where they highlighted the importance of community partnerships and developing Nigeria’s gemstone value chain.

At a session on “From Consent to Social License: Community Relations Across the Mine Life Cycle,” the panellists urged mining companies to treat host communities as partners rather than beneficiaries and prioritise sustainable projects that would continue to serve residents after mining operations ended.

The panellists included Francine Carrone, chief executive officer and founder of ESG Consultancy, and Madhurii Sarda-Amoda, community development and stakeholder manager at Segilola Operating Resources Ltd.

They said effective community relations should begin at the exploration stage, with mining companies engaging different groups, including traditional leaders, youths, farmers and hunters, to build trust and prevent conflicts.

They advised companies against imposing projects without first consulting residents on their needs, stressing that community members were better placed to identify interventions that would improve their welfare.

“Don’t go to the community thinking you know all the answers. Ask the people how things can be better and listen to them; they will tell you what will work and what won’t,” the panellists said.

They illustrated the point with an example of a mining company that built a school for a community when residents needed access to clean water.

The panellists also urged mining firms to employ community relations specialists and invest in long-term initiatives, such as skills development and capacity building, that benefit the wider population rather than a few individuals.

At a separate session on “Developing Nigeria’s Gemstone Value Chains,” stakeholders called for increased local processing, technical training and effective branding to strengthen the industry and create employment opportunities.

The President of the Gemstones Miners and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Adeniran Ajibade, said organising artisanal miners into cooperatives would improve their operations and help bring more operators into the formal sector.

He said formalisation would also support better environmental management, land reclamation and community development.

Ajibade stressed the need for training in gemstone mining, cutting, polishing, jewellery making and marketing, noting that proper extraction techniques were essential to prevent damage to valuable stones.

He also advocated stronger branding of Nigerian gemstones, citing Tanzania’s success in promoting Tanzanite as a model Nigeria could emulate. He said the country should develop its domestic jewellery market and establish an international gemstone buying centre.

Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Laurel School of Mines, Tope Adebanjo, said Nigeria needed entrepreneurs capable of transforming raw gemstones into finished products rather than exporting them with little or no processing.

He said training in gemstone enhancement, treatment, evaluation and jewellery making would help retain more economic value within the country, citing Thailand’s gemstone industry as an example of the benefits of skills development and entrepreneurship.

The Chief Executive Officer also called for collaboration among government agencies, training institutions and industry associations to develop the expertise required to grow the sector.

The Country Manager of Adelia, Segun Okoh, advocated structured training, financial literacy and business management support to help gemstone entrepreneurs attract investment and establish viable businesses.

He also proposed gemstone industry clusters in which mining, grading, processing, and jewellery production could take place within the same areas to reduce costs and improve market access.

The stakeholders said that combining responsible community engagement with local processing, skills development, and effective branding would help Nigeria build a more sustainable gemstone industry, generate employment, and strengthen its competitiveness in the global market.