Governor Bassey Otu
By Anietie Akpan
Faced with lean resources, Cross River state government will soon commence the mining of her vast solid mineral resources.
The State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu in a press release by his Chief Press Secretary, Nsa Gill, said this when he visited the Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake in his office in Abuja recently.
He revealed that Cross-River state is on the verge of joining other states in operating a mining company, having applied for a license as a limited liability company.
Governor Otu emphasized the State’s commitment to leveraging its vast mineral resources for state development stressing the importance of partnering with the ministry to combat illegal mining activities.
He said, “we needed to come and look at the laws and regulations guiding proper mining processes. This will help us make informed decisions in collaboration with the federal government to clean up the mining sector. We are also exploring Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to tap into our vast solid mineral potential”.
With this visit, the Federal Government and Cross-River State are enhancing their collaboration to sanitise the mining sector and address the issue of illegal mining operations in the state.
Speaking while receiving Governor Otu in his office, the Minister highlighted that the visit exemplifies the renewed spirit of cooperation between the federal government and states in harnessing the nation’s mineral resources towards fostering economic development.
“The governor’s visit is a clear example of the collaboration we are aiming for between the federal government and subnational authorities. Our goal is to sanitise the mining sector, secure mining areas, and create a conducive environment for investors,” Alake said.
Findings by Pillar Today showed that during the former Governor Ben Ayade’s administration, the state government had signed an MOU with Shian Xi and Hun Ching Provinces of China and as a result of the bilateral understanding, the Chinese from Shian Xi came for the exploration.
It was gathered that over 34 minerals were identified to be available in different parts of the state and some of the solid minerals found in commercial quantity in the state are uranium, iron ore, manganese, tourmaline, barites, marbles, galena and sphalerite, coal, kaolin, sulphite, rutile as well as new limestone deposits and others.
The then Commissioner for Solid Minerals in the State, Mr. George Oben’enchi had said “between eight to 10 new minerals were discovered in addition to the old ones. In a community called Ishibori in Ogoja, we discovered very precious and high content of illumenite in commercial quantity. In Iso-bendeghe in Boki local government area stretching into Bendeghe-Afi in Ikom council, we discovered massive magnetic iron ore.
“That is something that we never knew, even the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) never knew we have that in Cross River state. This is what steel companies have been looking for. It is like a torch light in a day time. I am very sure that what we have seen so far can last for the next 100 years or more”.
