Dele Alake says the federal government will deploy technology to monitor mining sites

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake has revealed the federal government's intention to deploy technology for the surveillance of mining sites across the country.

The Minister made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, June 2 in Abuja.

He noted the technology will aid the 2,220 personnel of the Mining Marshal Corps drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to combat illegal mining.

The corps deployed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were also trained on modern warfare by the military to secure Nigeria’s natural resources.

“We are introducing some technology, we are not just relying on men and materials alone.

“The satellite surveillance gadgets we are putting in there is to enable us see in real time in all mining sites in Nigeria.

“So that when we notice any infraction, very quickly we can deploy the mining marshals to go there so we don’t even have to wait for any interpersonal communication.

“That reduces the time of knowledge and action. Right now we depend on people passing intelligence to us but when the satellite surveillance gadget is working, we will be able to see it ourselves.

“Which is a step forward on the right direction”, he said.

The minister said that to attract investors to the sector, especially the big players, it was necessary to put in place policies and initiatives aimed at securing their investments.

“We needed to put in place policy measures to ensure that when these investors come, they are not just coming into the darkness that we had here before.

“They will ask some questions, what is the security of their operating environment, their investment, personnel and the ease of doing business in Nigeria and the sector”, he said.