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By Stella Odueme
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development and Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), Dele Alake, has called for the establishment of a Mine Emergency and Community Development Fund to reduce human and material losses arising from mine collapses across Africa.
Alake made the call in New York, United States, while addressing dignitaries at the third AMSG High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development, held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The event was chaired by Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, and attended by African ministers responsible for mining and other stakeholders in the sector.
According to a statement by A statement by
Kehinde Bamigbetan
in New York, United States, on behalf of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, on Tuesday, the minister also proposed the establishment of an African safety facility to support the formalisation of artisanal mining and promote the development of mining cooperatives across member countries.
Alake expressed concern over the recurring tragedies associated with mine collapses in Africa, citing major incidents in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, as well as the recent deaths of suspected illegal miners in Nigeria while in detention.
He said the repeated tragedies required more than expressions of sympathy, stressing the need for collective continental action to protect mining communities.
“Each time one of these tragedies occurs, I have had the painful responsibility, as the chairman of this Group, of conveying our condolences. But condolences, however sincere, cannot be the limit of continental solidarity,” he said.
He noted that behind every casualty was a family that could lose its breadwinner, children who might be unable to return to school and communities left to cope with disasters without adequate support.
Alake commended artisanal and small-scale miners for sustaining millions of livelihoods across Africa and supplying minerals to domestic and international markets.
He therefore urged African governments to prioritise the formalisation of artisanal mining rather than criminalising the operators.
“If AMSG can mobilise governments, financiers and investors around the billion-dollar mineral corridors, we should also be capable of mobilising expertise and resources to prevent miners from entering unsupported pits without geological guidance, basic safety systems or credible emergency response,” he said.
The minister also signed the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD), designed to provide political assurance for the coordination of bilateral and multilateral projects across the continent.
According to him, the declaration will facilitate predictable regional infrastructure and processing investments while encouraging governments to collaborate on continental projects.
Earlier, Vice President Shettima urged the AMSG to champion Africa’s industrial development through cooperation with foreign companies and governments based on shared values and mutual benefits.
Shettima maintained that African countries must take responsibility for protecting their interests and ensure that the continent’s mineral resources are deployed to drive industrialisation and improve living conditions.
The roundtable also featured discussions involving experts from regional agencies, international institutions and leading players in the mining industry.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu, commended the AMSG and stressed the urgency for African countries to accelerate industrialisation.
Zubairu said the continent could not afford to delay industrialisation if it must feed, house and clothe an estimated one billion people over the next 24 years.
He called for greater regional collaboration, noting that individual countries could not tackle the scale of the continent’s developmental challenges through unilateral efforts.
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