While some states have their development hinged on the mining of minerals buried underneath their lands, the inattention of miners to proper mining practices has made life difficult for the people, e.g., potable water is inaccessible or contaminated by activities of miners. Mine pits by artisanal and small-scale miners of gemstones in Ijero-Ekiti, Nassarawa, Olode, Shaki, Jos, Keffi, Akwanga and other parts of Nigeria also create huge environmental hazards to farmers as many of them have been accidentally buried in abandoned pits and shafts. What’s more worrying is that illegal miners do not know the gravity of the environmental hazards they cause.
Activities of illegal miners damage the profile of the soil, resulting in escalation of erosion and environmental degradation. More disturbing is the presence of radioactive materials contained in these minerals – lead epidemic due to illegal gold mining in Bagega, Zamfara State, has killed 400 and poisoned 4,000, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
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