The Federal Ministry of Environment has inaugurated the project steering committee for the Global Environment Facility Gold (GEF GOLD+ ) Nigeria Project to eradicate mercury pollution within the Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector of the country.
The permanent secretary of the ministry of environment, Mahmud Adam Kambari in his inaugural message yesterday in Abuja, stated that the core objectives of the project is to substantially reduce mercury use within the ASGM sector in Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kebbi states.
Kambari revealed that the project will also assist in establishing a robust framework for a nationwide transition towards sustainable and environmentally sound mining practices.
The permanent secretary who explained that Nigeria, as a signatory and Party to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, has demonstrated its commitment by developing a National Action Plan (NAP) for the reduction and eventual elimination of mercury use in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Nigeria between 2017 and 2020, also said the GEF GOLD+ Nigeria Project builds upon the foundation laid by the NAP and holds paramount importance for the Federal Ministry of Environment and for the nation as a whole.
While assuring that the project will not only effectively mitigate significant environmental risks but will equally contribute substantially to the economic empowerment of mining communities and the development of a transparent as well as responsible gold supply chain within Nigeria, Kambari noted that the project steering committee will bear the crucial responsibility of providing strategic guidance and actionable recommendations to effectively support the project’s overarching objectives.
Earlier, the executive director Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for African Region (BCCC-A), Professor Gilbert Adie said the Project’s overall goal is to enhance the formalization of the artisanal and small scale goal mining activities in Nigeria with the aim of having mercury free technologies in the sector.
