User:LKSALATI/Illegal Mining in Nigeria

Illegal mining in Nigeria dates back to the early years of Nigeria's independence when the Indigenization Decree of 1972 was enacted, edging out the foreign expatriates who formed the 'think-tank' of the country's mining industry since the colonial period. Illegal mining in Nigeria cuts across various states and their respective mineral endowments. It has become a major occupation of most rural communities who see the ownership of mineral resources as their hereditary possession. Hence, such illegal activities are closely related to criminality in these areas and are currently responsible for fueling banditry in parts of northern Nigeria. It is, therefore, not surprising that illegal mining has now become a lucrative business among many elites in the mining communities with connivance with Chinese merchants whose interest to use it to smuggle unprocessed minerals out of Nigeria.