….CRCC, China State-Owned Vehicles present On Site
Pursuant to their mandate of helping to sanitise operations in the Nigerian mining sector, men of the Mining Marshals stormed Libata mining site in Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi State on Friday, November 8th, 2024 in the afternoon to arrest some Chinese nationals said to be illegally mining lithium there on alleged trespass, but were prevented from apprehending the illegal operators by the military and police personnel who claimed they were deployed to protect the illegal miners by higher authorities.
In a determination to tackle the menace of illegal mining and sanitise the mining sector in the country, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake and his counterpart in the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji.Ojo, in collaboration with authorities of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), recently commissioned the mining marshals, a specialised unit drafted from the NSCDC.
It was gathered that El-Tahdam Exploration Limited, one of Nigeria’s pioneer lithium mining and processing companies, legally holds the mining title to the site and is in the process of building a $50 million lithium processing plant there, but the Chinese were allegedly operating under ‘a self-acclaimed’ licensee, Three Crowns Mines Limited, denying El-Tahdam access.
During the sting operation, the illegal miners who ceased operation temporarily, resigned to their living quarters on the site, apparently having gotten wind of the swoop by the mining marshals, were pulled out and lined up for onward conveyance to Abuja by the team led by the mining Marshals Commander, Attah John Onoja, having identified themselves and declared their mission to the security agencies on guard duty upon arrival.
However, the accused were later spared due to the strong resistance emanating from the same military personnel, about 40 in number and mobile police, about 20 in number, all battle-ready.
The Mining Marshals Commander, to forestall breakdown of law and order, quietly retreated, noting that necessary steps known to law are being taken already and will stop at nothing in ensuring lawful mining activities in the area and Nigeria at large.
With this scenario, one may wonder if the government is not speaking from both sides of the mouth on the efforts being made to combat illegal mining to zero level, given that while one security outfit carries out its statutory duty of purging the sector of illegality, another security agency is mandated to protect the illegality and their perpetrators by ‘higher authorities.’
Confirming the illegality of the operations in Libata via a telephone conversation, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of El-TahDam Exploration, Engr. Adamu Tah, said his company validly acquired a Mining Lease to operate on the site with the $50 million processing plant designed to create over 3,000 jobs, but was denied access by those Chinese under the cover of Three Crown Mines and aided by both Military and Mobile Police detached to sustain the illegality.
He said, “The Chinese, because of the illegal mining they are undertaking there, exploiting and carting away countless tonnes of crude materials, want to frustrate our efforts to set up the processing plant there. They also have some state actors such as the Chinese embassy in strong support since the complaint letter to that effect dispatched to them remains unattended. Other local cohorts and influential figures are clearly
behind their illegal act, no doubt.”
According to Tah, who affirm that he had won the support of the host community to make his planned $50 million investment in the area, all he wanted is for the illegal occupants to vacate the site so that he could resume operations and continue with his plan to establish the processing plant.
Commenting, the mining Marshals Commander, Onoja, said they embarked on the operation not to halt mining there but to ensure that those operating there are duly licensed to do so since the information at their disposal does not capture those mining there hitherto as the licensees.
Intriguingly, the presence of vehicles belonging to CRCC, China-State owned company on the site, has sparked concerns among stakeholders. Some CRCC vehicles, with the nominal inscription on the body, were seen parked on the site at the time of the sting operation, implying a direct involvement in the prevailing expatriate-linked illegalities in the Nigerian mining sector.
According to an anonymous source, it is sad that China-state owned company is involved directly in the illegal mining on-going in Libata. CRCC, which is presented for many projects in Nigeria, may ‘allegedly’ be financing and encouraging the illegal act.
From reliable sources, it was also gathered, that another Chinese company, Canmax, may also be complicit in financing those illicit activities and has already smuggled large quantities of critical mineral resources out of the country.
This scenario has prompted concerned stakeholders to call for probe of all the foreign companies that export minerals or are sponsoring illegal mining with a view to revoking their mineral processing permits, if any or banning them from further mining business in Nigeria.
