Lack Of Access To Loans Cripples Mining In Kaduna – Miners

The Kaduna State Chapter of the Miners Association of Nigerian on Friday said lack of access to loans from commercial banks had crippled mining activities in the state.

The Chairman of the association, Malam Lawal Maiyari, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

He described mining sector as an untapped goldmine in the state, urging the miners to come up with bankable visibility study on the amount of mineral deposit to attract loans.

Maiyari said that this had remained a major challenge for miners because mining activities were capital intensive.

According to him, to come up with a viable visibility study, one will require heavy equipment and other mining gadget without which he cannot achieve much.

“But with the government’s support, a comprehensive and bankable data will be generated to pave way for sustainable and commercially viable mining activities in the state,’’ he said.

The chairman of the association said that solid minerals were being underutilised in the country because of the overdependence on oil the sector.
He said the north was richly endowed with solid minerals deposit that could sustain every state instead of relying on the allocation from the federation account.

The chairman said that artisan miners were the first to locally explore the minerals resources in the state.

“We value their contributions to discover minerals by risking their lives since there are no equipment,’’ he said.

Maiyari called on the state government to continue to provide security for the miners to enable them to operate in a conducive and secured environment. 

(NAN)