Inside Bauchi’s illegal mining hub
● Why we’re involved, by nursing mothers, students, others
Poverty has pushed many Bauchi State residents to engage in illegal mining activities, defying the dangers and restrictions imposed by the state government on illegal mining.The locals work all day, extracting the mined sand locally called Monazite minerals. DAVID ADENUGA reports on how they are risking it all to survive economic hardship.
Mining is the primary means of livelihood for rural dwellers in Rafin-Kayan community located on the outskirts of Bauchi metropolis. The community, tucked between an arid landscape of rocks and sand, is an abode for miners in search of monazite, a crucial raw material prized for its abundance of rare-earth metals essential for renewable energy production.
Undeterred by the relentless heat of the sun, the villagers till the land in search of this raw material. They work all day, extracting the mined sand locally called Monazite minerals.
Among the women at the site is Hassana Monday, a nursing mother who visited the site with her six-month-old baby. After breastfeeding the child, she carefully strapped him on her back before turning her attention to the task at hand—digging through the sand in search of Monazite.
“We are really suffering. The government is not helping us.
“We need help from the government.
“I have been here since morning separating the monazite from the sand.
“I make N4,000 daily from the mining site,” she told this reporter who visited the mining site.
Monday is among the many women who visited the mining site. For her and other women, the risks were worth taking. In an environment where opportunities are limited and survival is a daily battle, they refused to be sidelined by the men.
Isa Zainab (14), the first child in a family of six, told this reporter that she shares part of the financial responsibilities of her parents with the Monazite business.
The young girl, who was busy searching for monazite at a nearby stream when our reporter approached her, said she normally gave her mother half of the money, which she uses in providing food for them at home.
Isa makes up to N8,000 daily from the monazite business. The young girl, whose life ambition is to become a doctor, said her parents are not financially capable of helping her to further her education after she completed her primary education, hence the reason why she had to visit the mining sites close to her area.
Our reporter’s visit to the local mining sites showed that the miners seemed not to care about the restrictions imposed by the state government that miners must get consent letters from authorities.
The Nation findings revealed that illegal mining activities are not limited to Bauchi Local Government Area alone but are also occurring in five other local government areas of the state, namely Toro, Alkaleri, Ningi, and certain areas of Tafawa Balewa.
These activities are particularly widespread in Toro, with operations spanning 20 different sites. Minerals such as tin ore, gold, columbite and monazite are being extracted in this region.
Residents collect the monazite and sell to local companies, who separate it from the sand. The price of monazite ranges from N4,000 per kg to N3,300, depending on dollar rate.
“I’m one of the operators here and we used to help the locals separate the sand from the Monazite, and they would be paid after we have weighed the amount of monazite.”
“The government is aware of our operations, because our company is registered,” says Eunice Timothy, one of the operators at the local mining factory in Gudum Sayawa where the locals exchange their raw materials for money.
In Nigeria, illegal mining has become a major problem, leading to considerable environmental damage, economic losses and heightening insecurity.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), over $9 billion is lost every other year as a result of illegal mining activities in the country.
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As part of efforts to tackle illegal mining, the Bauchi State Government banned the issuance of consent letters to prospective investors in the mining sector without due approval.
In a statement, Saleh Umar, information officer in the Ministry of Natural Resources, said individuals, groups and monarchs are prohibited from issuing consent letters without obtaining clearance from the ministry of natural resources.
Umar said the government was determined to create an enabling environment for the mining sector to thrive in the state by enhancing investors’ confidence in the solid minerals sector.
He quoted Maiwada Bello, commissioner of the ministry, as saying that the ban is meant to curb environmental degradation and security challenges associated with mining activities.
Battle for survival
Poverty and hardship are fuelling the desperation of many residents such that despite the obvious risks associated with illegal mining, the promise of getting money is worth even death itself.
In August last year, at least four illegal miners were confirmed dead after a mining pit collapsed in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Similarly, in January 2024, four women reportedly lost their lives in Bauchi State as a mining pit collapsed in the Gudum Sayawa suburb of Bauchi metropolis, while several others sustained injuries at the site located 800 metres from the community.
Deborah Nandet is still grappling with the loss of her mother, Saratu Iliya, who was one of the four women tragically killed in a mining pit collapse in the Gudum Sayawa suburb of Bauchi metropolis.
In an interview with The Nation, Nandet revealed that her mother was struggling to get what to eat before she met her untimely death.
Recalling the events leading to her mother’s death, Nandet explained: “My mother was struggling to find something to eat, so she went to the mining site to address her own challenges.
“She had been there for less than 30 minutes when the pit collapsed, and she died instantly.”
She further disclosed that her mother used to visit the site regularly from Monday to Wednesday, while the incident occurred on Thursday, January 25.
Living in Abuja, Nandet rushed back home upon hearing about the incident during her visit for Christmas and her brother’s wedding.
She recounted how she found her mother’s lifeless body at the site.
Despite the tragedy, she expressed support for mining activities, citing the difficult circumstances they were facing, adding: “You cannot go and beg.”
Similarly, Jonah Saraki Joshua, the elder brother of Beauty Joshua, who also died in the mining collapse, described her death as a significant loss. He said that the incident could have been prevented if warnings about the dangers of the mining site had been heeded.
Speaking in an interview with our reporter, a construction worker in Gudum Sayawa, identified simply as Joseph, blamed the Ministry of Solid Minerals for inadequate monitoring of illegal mining in the state.
“It has been said over and over again that mining without permission and supervision is dangerous. These things continue to happen because the authorities are sitting in their air conditioned offices instead of monitoring the activities of illegal miners.
“Last year, it was in Rafin Tambari that people lost their lives. This year, it is Gudum Seyawa.
“The federal and state ministries in charge of mines have to sit up and ensure that they arrest any illegal miner operating in the state, so nobody dies needlessly,” he said.
Another resident, Habila Zaki, said that poor harvests and poverty had pushed them to indulge in illegal mining.
His words: “I feel really bitter in my heart. I am thinking of what those women might have gone through before they died in that unfortunate incident.
“Those were unarguably the breadwinners of their various homes. Breaking stones is unthinkable, especially for a woman.
“They break stones all day and still go home to prepare meals for their families.
“We can all see why this happened. The yields from their farms were very poor, which was why they were forced to do illegal mining to make ends meet.
“I hope that others will learn from this and not indulge in illegal things that can end their lives.”
Corroborating Zaki, one of the miners, Ayuba Ibrahim, said illegal mining to them is a means of survival. Ibrahim, who happens to be a graduate, said since graduating from the university six year ago, it has been difficult for him to get a job.
He stated that illegal miners are paying revenue to the government, adding that there are agencies collecting N1,000 naira per bag (of monazite) from them. Ibrahim added that he makes between N15,000 and N20,000 a week from selling the raw material.
“The message I want to pass to the government both at the state and national level is that we are doing this mining activity to survive and feed our families despite being a graduate for over six years now.
“I do it due to lack of job. We are paying revenue to the state government while kidnappers on the other hand are kidnapping our people and the government will pay them ransom with the money they generated from us.
“We don’t know if the money we paid is going to the state government directly, but there are agencies collecting N1,000 per bag from us.
“It is very painful how the government is collecting money despite the fact that they refused to provide jobs for us.
“The revenue collectors are staying along Inkil-Gombe Road. The only way the government will stop the illegal mining activity is by providing jobs for the masses because the illegal mining we are doing is better than kidnapping and robbery.
“I worked from Monday to Saturday and I earned 15 to N 20,000 in a week.”
How communities battle water borne diseases from contaminated water
The residents of Rafin-Kaya face a dire situation as they depend on water from pits dug by miners, especially during dry seasons.
This reliance on contaminated water sources has persisted for over a decade due to severe water scarcity.
The residents blame the government for not providing them with an alternative source of water, leaving them with no choice but to rely on the water from the mining pits for their daily needs.
The situation worsened with the onset of illegal mining activities, which transformed nearby streams into contaminated pits, further endangering the health of the villagers.
As a result, both children and adults in the community suffer from waterborne diseases due to the contaminated water they are forced to use.
Yunusa Abdullahi, the community head of Rafin Kaya Dandango Ward, in an interview with our reporter, said residents are being taken to Jitar primary health care centre, which is quite far from the community, where they are often tested for typhoid and other water borne diseases.
“The water that we fetch for drinking and cooking are often fetched from nearby streams, but the activities of illegal miners have made this water undrinkable.
“Before we know it, residents are always in and out of hospitals where they test positive for typhoid.
“In a month, over 20 villagers were taken to the hospital for treatment, not to talk of the number of people taken to the hospital in a year.”
But the State Commissioner Ministry of Water Resources, Hon. Abdulrazaq Nuhu Zaki assured that the government is set to purchase new power transformers that supply power to water stations in a move to address the challenges being faced with water supply in the metropolis.
He gave the assurance during the inauguration of the new governing boards of directors of Bauchi State Urban Water and Sewerage Corporation (BSUWSC) and Bauchi State Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) yesterday.
He said: “You may be aware of the challenges being faced recently with water supply, especially in Bauchi metropolis. Municipal water supply requires the utilization of electricity power.
“In fact, in situations where gravity flow is not obtainable, there has to be full mechanization of the system. This means flow in the system is induced by pumping, which requires power to achieve it.”
“The Gubi Dam Water Treatment Plant relies on electricity to pump water to Bauchi metropolis. The power transformers at the substation have been developing problems which in turn have been affecting water supply to the metropolis,” Zaki said.
He assured that the state government will continue to explore the utilization of solar systems to provide power to the schemes as much as it’s practicable.
Bauchi government to implement new measures for sanitisation of mining operations
Meanwhile, the Bauchi State government has reaffirmed its commitment to sanitising the operations of all mining companies within the state, aiming to ensure compliance with established guidelines and boost revenue generation.
Speaking during an official visit to various mining sites across several local government areas, the Commissioner of Natural Resources, Muhammad Maiwada Bello, stated that the administration’s resolve to implement stringent measures to curb illegal mining activities and enhance revenue streams.
“We are introducing innovative approaches to tackle illegal mining operations and streamline activities, with the ultimate goal of enhancing our state’s internal revenue,” Bello stated.
He stressed the need for every mining company to collaborate with the ministry, adhere to provided protocols and operate within the framework of Community Development Agreements (CDAs) for the mutual benefit of host communities and the state as a whole.
He explained the importance for miners to be well-versed in terms of their mining licenses, spanning federal, state and local government levels, to ensure seamless operations.
The local government areas visited by the commissioner during the tour encompassed Darazo, Misau, Shira, and Jama’are and was accompanied by caretaker chairman of Shira LGA,
Majority leader of state house of assembly, chairman house Committee on mining, deputy chairman of Darazo & Misau LGAs and MD Bamsel, among others.