By Zandi Shabalala
LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria will lift a ban on mining
in Zamfara state by the end of March after the government
deployed a surveillance team to stifle illegal activity in the
northwestern region, the minister of mines and steel development
said.
The government suspended operations in April on concerns
that illegal mining was connected to a surge in banditry in the
state that was the worst hit by a wave of violence that killed
dozens of people and displaced thousands. "The ban is about to be lifted because a lot of genuine
investors who want to come (to invest) into Zamfara state,"
minister Olamilekan Adegbite told Reuters during a visit to
London, adding this would happen "within the first quarter".
"When the ban came into effect there were a lot of investors
who were already putting in money had to stop ... they are
anxious to realise their investments."
Adegbite said the government had deployed a "surveillance
team" to quell unrest and "discourage illegal activity".
But the United Nation's refugee agency said in September
that worsening violence caused by organised armed groups had
displaced about 40,000 people since the beginning of 2019.
In June, an armed group killed at least 34 people in attacks
on villages. Nigeria has largely untapped deposits of minerals including
gold, nickel, tin and zinc. Some 80 percent of mining in Nigeria
is carried out on an artisanal basis and gold in Zamfara is
routinely smuggled out of the country illegally to neighbouring
Niger and Togo.
About 500 kg of gold per month is illegally smuggled out of
Nigeria, Adegbite said. At current prices, this is worth about
$25 million and implies millions in lost tax revenue and unpaid
royalties.
A Reuters analysis published in April found that billions of
dollars' worth of gold is being smuggled out of Africa every
year through the United Arab Emirates, a gateway to other
markets. The government has granted refining licences to local firms
Kian Smith Trade & Co and Dukia Gold, which will have a combined
capacity of 37 tonnes per year, said Adegbite.
Nigeria's central bank would purchase some of the gold.