More than 1000 mining sites across the country are occupied by illegal miners, the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society has said.
The President of the society, Prof. Gbenga Okunlola, said this at a press conference to announce the 2017 National Conference of the NMGS in Abuja on Thursday.
Illegal mining has remained a recurring decimal in the sector in spite of efforts by the Federal Government to harness the sector in the quest to diversify the economy.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, had stated that the Federal Government was losing about $1.54bn per annum to illegal miners.
Similarly, the National President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Sani Shehu, had said that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps recently closed about 27 illegal mining sites in Lagos, Edo, Taraba, Imo and Plateau states, but that the problem was still persisting.
Okunlola said the conference would focus on how to harness the mining sector to create wealth and job opportunities for the nation’s youthful population.
