Senate demands probe of $9bn lost annually to illegal gold mining

The Senate has requested the Nigerian government to conduct an inquiry into a purported loss of revenue summing up to $9 billion every year from illegal gold mining and smuggling in Nigeria.

It enjoined the executive on Wednesday to step up actions to curtail illegal gold mining and end revenue loss resulting from such practices, and recommended the creation of gold mining farms to support miners and artisans.

The Senate similarly authorised the committee on solid minerals, mines, steel development and metallurgy to prove illegal mining activities and the consequent revenue loss.

The decisions followed a motion by Orji Uzor Kalu, the Senate chief whip during plenary, where he noted that “Nigeria lost close to $54 billion from 2012-2018 due to illegal smuggling of gold.”

“The country is said to be losing about $9bn yearly to illegal mining and gold exportation, a huge amount of money unaccounted for through under the radar sales of the expensive commodity,” he said.

Illegal gold mining is becoming rampant in the industry and the high incidence of solid mineral smuggling from Nigeria by smugglers and middlemen is aiding erosion of government revenue, Senator Kalu added.

He is optimistic that addressing illegal gold mining in the country will deliver jobs in excess of 250,000 and royalties and taxes topping $500 million to government.

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“Given our current estimated gold reserves of over 200million ounces, most of which have not been exploited, developing sustainable programmes that will catalyse increased investment in the extraction and refining of gold sourced from mines in Nigeria, is indeed vital.”

According to him, industry data shows gold abounds in commercial quantities in states like Rivers, Niger, Edo, Zamfara, Abia, Oyo, Cross River, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kogi, Kaduna, Osun and Kebbi as well as Abuja.

Senator Smart Adeyemi asserted that illicit gold mining had become an issue requiring urgent resolution in light of its potential of complicating insecurity challenges in the country “because most of the miners are foreigners.”

President Muhammadu Buhari said in June his government was looking earn $500 million in gold mining every year and diversify the income base of cash-strapped Nigeria, whose revenue and foreign exchange earnings have been significantly hampered by an oil crash in April and the coronavirus pandemic.