The General Manager of Borno Mining Company Limited (BOMICOL), Mallam Aminu Muhammad Chamalwa has confirmed that mining activities remain suspended across the state due to a government-imposed embargo. The decision, he says, is a strategic response to growing security concerns.
Nigerian Mining reported in September 2023 that the State government had proscribed mining activities to curb insecurity. The Borno State House of Assembly raised alarm over a looming security menace in the state due to illegal mining in various communities.
That was days after the federal government, through the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, declared that state governments lacked the powers to ban mining activities in their domains.
“No mining activity is supposed to be carried out in the state until when the embargo is being lifted,” the Chamalwa said during an interview. “We have so many untapped minerals in the state… limestone, bitumen, monazite, and gemstones.”
In March 2024, Farouq Musa-Boyi, the NSCDC commandant in Borno, spoke in an interview with NAN in Maiduguri, explaining that most of illegal mining occurred in the Bayo local government area of the state, leading to environmental degradation — particularly in Wuyo, Jaradali, and Balbaya villages.
“There are several minerals in Borno which include feldspar, limestone, kaolin, potash, iron-ore, quarts, magnetite, diatomite, trona, mica, silica sand, gypsum, granite, flutters earth and uranium among others,” he said.
The General Manager warned of illegal mining activities, especially during the rainy season when minerals like monazite appear in surface deposits. “Those are illegal miners… they are just taking the opportunity of the availability of the minerals which is being deposited on the surface of the river channels.”
The embargo, according to the General Manager, is a proactive measure to avoid the replication of mining-related violence seen in other parts of Nigeria. “The state government… for fear of what has happened in the western part of the country, placed an embargo so that what has happened in Zamfara axis should not replicate itself.”
While 38 licensed miners are currently inactive, Chamalwa assured that the state’s security agencies are monitoring activities and anyone caught mining illegally will be prosecuted.
BOMICOL Eyes Youth Employment Boom
With a mining embargo still in place in Borno State, BOMICOL says it is waiting patiently but confidently, for government clearance to commence full operations that could create jobs for hundreds of young people.
“Operation is yet to kick start,” Chamalwa stated. “But definitely once the activity starts, the youth will be [engaged]… because mining is not just a single entity… so many activities are involved.”
The GM referenced the employment boom associated with mining towns like Jos during active seasons. “When you go to Jos, especially during the rainy season, you see people working along river channels, extracting… packaging… selling. It’s not one person, it’s not two persons—it’s many.”
BOMICOL currently operates with just three staff members following the death of its auditor in April. However, there are robust plans in place. “Once the embargo is lifted and we get the go-ahead from the government, people will smile,” he said.
“Some of them… have the capacity to extract, process and sell. Some don’t. We will collaborate,” he stated.
In addition to creating jobs, BOMICOL is working on plans to establish warehouses, build mineral buying centres, and support local artisanal miners.
