Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on Sunday, warned illegal miners against risking their lives by extracting minerals from abandoned mine pits without licences.

Alake spoke against the backdrop of the collapse of an abandoned tin mine pit at an unlicensed mining site in Kassa, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, which claimed seven lives.

The Minister said the tragedy could have been avoided if the miners had formed a cooperative and applied for the necessary permit, which would have enabled them to benefit from the ministry’s artisanal mining department’s field training and secure a steady source of income.

He called on investors to partner with the government to repurpose such sites for profitable projects.

Calling on artisanal miners nationwide to learn a grave lesson from the collective grief that the sad incident has inflicted on the nation, the minister commiserated with the government and people of Plateau State on the sad incident and prayed for the repose of the dead.

Alake said: “The challenge before the state and the Federal Government is how to turn these potential pits of death into centres of joyful prosperity.”

He noted that there are over 4,000 mine pits dug by the mining conglomerate Amalgamated Tin Mines Limited and its successor companies-Consolidated Tin Mines Limited and Nigerian Tin and Allied Products Limited.

He said the government welcomes investors interested in re-purposing these pits for energy, tourism and fishery projects.

Alake said collaborating with the private sector is the most proactive and fastest approach to turning dead assets into productive use, noting that the Ministry has rehabilitated 59 abandoned pits so far.

In a bid to de-risk investment, Alake said the Ministry has embarked on a strategic initiative to deploy advanced GIS satellite mapping and Artificial Intelligence through a public-private partnership with ImPPPact Nigeria Alliance, alongside geomatics specialist Intomatics, using Plateau State as the pilot beneficiary to locate, characterise accurately, and design workflows to reclaim the thousands of legacy tin pits.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Lara Owoeye-Wise, the Minister advised prospective investors to direct enquiries to the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office and the Ministry’s Mines and Environmental Compliance Department.

To ensure that abandoned pits do not occur again, Alake said he has pioneered the establishment of the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Fund by activating what had been a mere constitutional provision.

Alake added, “Very soon, we shall conclude discussions with the fund managers. Therefore, mining companies must pay to the Fund so that it can rehabilitate mine pits if the companies don’t do so during closure.”