Apparently Chinese and Indian firms have been involved in illegal mining of Nigeria’s solid mineral deposits across the country with the government probably unaware of the actions, a ThisDay report says.     

According to Mr. Ledum Mitee, Chairman of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Mr. Ledum Mitee, several illegal artisanal operations in Nigeria’s solid mineral sector were being sponsored by Chinese and Indian companies but with support from local authorities.

The illegal miners “engage local artisans and government authorities to do this at ridiculously low rates and export to make extreme profits but NEITI will all the required provide information to enforcement agencies with which they can use to hunt down such firms in the sector.”

Mitee noted that base-line information gathered from scoping studies that were conducted earlier in the sector, revealed discrepancies in government receipts and operating companies’ payments within the periods.

He expressed regrets that illegal mining has continued to thrive in the sector as a result of an apparent lack of regulation.