The President, Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), Mrs. Rose Ndong, has said that the Federal Government has commenced the process of reviewing extant mining laws in the country.
Ndong told newsmen in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state yesterday that a review of the laws that have been in existence since 2007 would give the government more control over mining activities, and reduce the incidence of illegal mining in the country.
According to the president, the review o of mining laws, spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Mining, would provide and strengthen the existing legal framework to check mining activities across all the states in Nigeria.
The president’s press briefing was ahead of the 262nd Council meeting of the Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), held in Uyo this weekend.
The reviews, she said, has also become necessary because of emerging trends in the industry, adding that mining licences would remain the exclusive reserve of the Federal Government. ”We cannot encourage state governments to issue mining licenses to companies. For now, the federal government is vested with such power; but we are expecting that the federal government will review those laws to tackle illegal mining across Nigeria”, she stated.
The conference, Ndong said, would address emerging realities in the geosciences and mining sectors of the economy. “As a nation richly endowed with natural resources, Nigeria must adopt innovative, efficient and sustainable approaches in managing these resources, while also building resilient infrastructure that can support long-term economic growth and environmental stability”, she explained.
The president said the theme of the conference: ‘Optimising Efficiency, Sustainability and Resilience in Natural Resources Management and Infrastructure Development’, would also have sub-themes of the conference, which would include: ‘Maximising Benefits of Interdisciplinary Approaches to Energy and Mineral Development, geo-sciences and Flood Control’.
Others include: ‘Geospatial Analysis and Remote Sensing in Mineral Exploration and Extraction, Current Trends in Geoscientist Discovery and Innovation and Role of Geosciences in the Construction Industry’.
Governor Umo Eno and other international dignitaries, she said, would grace the occasion, while participants would visit Geosciences and mining sites in the state.
