The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Olamilekan Adegbite, at the weekend, disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, will off-take gold to boost the profitability of artisanal miners in the country.
Adegbite who was represented by the Director, Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM), Mr. Patrick Ojeka, made the disclosure in his keynote address during the flag-off of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative, PAGMI, biometrics, in Yauri Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
According to him, the flag-off was an initiative of the Federal Government with support from the Government of Kebbi State and CBN was part of efforts to formalize and integrate activities of artisanal and small scale gold miners into the nation’s legal, economic and institutional framework.
The flag-off of PAGMI marks registration and enrollment of the first batch of artisanal miners and is expected to benefit from the initiative.
He further explained that PAGMI is an initiative and programme artisanal and small scale gold miners in Nigeria, which has Kebbi and Osun States as pilot States.
He said: “The initiative, apart from empowering the artisanal and small scale miners, would encourage and promote Nigerian processing and value addition industries.
“Through this initiative, we hope to solve the issue of disaggregation through the establishment of cooperatives, improve productivity through capacity building and the use of advanced equipment to improve the standard and quality of output.
“The Federal Government would establish buying centres with the CBN as off-taker and also integrate middlemen into the system, which would lead to higher profitability for artisanal miners.
“The Federal Government is in the process of building centralized processing centres with capabilities to produce minerals and enhance beneficiation within the country, leading to a reduction in taxes as incentives.
However, the Minister emphasized that the success of the initiative lies in the cooperation, cohesion, and commitment of stakeholders.
“The success of this initiative will only be possible through continuous cooperation, cohesion, commitment and the will of the stakeholders and people involved.
“The sustainability of this project is what we plan to achieve and all measures have been accounted for and put in place to ensure smooth implementation”, he stated.
Also speaking was the Governor of Kebbi State, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, who also is Vice Chairman, PAGMI, commended President Muhammadu Buhari, on efforts to boost the capacity of the artisanal miners in the country under the initiative and in order to be more productive and contribute positively to the Gross Domestic Product of the country
“PAGMI is part of the government’s efforts to support the artisanal miners across the nation and eliminate illegality so that the teeming youth who are interested in mining would be supported and do their business properly, legitimately and with maximum support from the Federal Government.
“Those that would be registered are expected to be good ambassadors of the State and make proper use of whatever assistance would come their way”, Bagudu said.
