*Photo: Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State *
Hon Hamzat Safiyanu Kachako, Kano State Commissioner for Solid Minerals and Natural Resources, is representing Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf at the Nigeria Mining Week. In this interview with TheMiners at the event holding at the Abuja Continental Hotel, he speaks on a wide range of issues.
Excerpts:
*Hon Hamzat Safiyanu Kachako*
You are at the conference, representing your state governor. What is the message that you have brought and what are your expectations from this event?
*L-R: Hon Hamzat Safiyanu Kachako and Alhaji Mikail Mumuni, TheMiners MD*
We have brought a good message from the Governor, His Excellency. He is in support of this and has seen the potentials. So, he wants to explore, and establish connections so that we can get investors that can come to the state and invest in our solid mineral sector. And from what I have seen here, I think the event is a very good setup to meet this expectation. It is an environment everyone we can sit and discuss, charting a roadmap for our future investment.
However, ours is a baby ministry. His excellency, the governor of Kano State formed the Ministry in early 2024.it is one year old now. We have seen the interest of the governor to develop the sector and we have started exploiting the potentials of the state.
His excellency has seen to it that we work in collaboration with media, investors, and all key players that can be strategic to the developmemt of this sector. Alhamdu;illah, from this effort, we have now formed Kano State own mining company, name Kano State Mining Company. We also try to put up the license own =ed by that company and acquiring the equipment that would provide the enabling environment for the company to operate and function well. We as well invite stakeholders and citizens of the state to participate and come up with ideas that would move the ministry forward.
We also try and make our own policy for the state, in collaboration with key stakeholders, in a way of complementing what the Federal Government is doing. We are focusing on our own security, community and the environment.
Your ministry has just been renamed from Ministry of Solid Mineral to Ministry of Mineral Resources. Is this part of the strategies to unlocking the potentials of the state?
I think it is only Nigeria that has the Federal Ministry of Solid Mineral in the whole world. What you will have is the Ministry of Mineral Resources. This is because there are different classifications of minerals, including solid and liquid minerals. We have crude oil, gas, water and so on as liquid minerals. Then we have gold, lithium, gemstones, among others as solid minerals. So, If we focus only on solid minerals, we might as well be undermining ourselves. This is the reason behind the changing in the name of the ministry.
The government just established a mining company in the state. What is the process like and the modus of oprandi?
As a ministry, our job is to regulate. We are not an operator. Judging from the foresight of his Excellency on the ways to develop the solid mineral sector, we has emphasized we work hand-in-hand with technocrats, development partners and all stakeholders that know about the solid mineral issues. In which we come out to establish state own mining company, which can be used for collaboration, and investment window, That is a good efforts we have achieved. And Insha Allah by the next edition of the Mining Week, Kano State would be one of the states you will see on the stage at the event.
Like other states synonymous with certain mineral resources, has Kano State discovered its mining potentials yet?
We are the major state, providing Tin, Columbite, Zinc, and as well as gold. We have key people that are heavily invested in the sector. Then, we have the Silica Sand, which is a very good one. It has 98% purity, leaving just a small touch to be processed. We have iron too, which is very good. We have illuminate, and tantalite are available in Kano State and in abundant quantity. This is the reason for investors to come and explore with us.
What are the plans in place to ensure the security challenges being experienced in the states with these mineral resources are not repeated in Kano State as the government begins to open the sector?
When we see the threat to our Gold in Gorso, Sanono axis and other areas, we try and make sure that we put necessary measures in place to curtail the issue of insecurity. The Governor has even established the Ministry of Internal Security, which would be used as our reinforcement for curtailing the challenge of insecurity.
We are also trying to see how we can recruit our youth as a way of addressing the issue of insecurity. For me it is a very good setup.
Youth unemployment is worrisome in the country. 70% of Nigerian youth are jobless and restless. This is one of the factors accounting for illegal mining besides security challenge. What is the Kano State Government doing to get the youth involved in the mining process so they don’t devolve into illegal mining?
Everything one needs to do, one needs to get the knowledge of it first and foremost. Knowledge is power. Hence, we are planning to train the youth on how to constructively engage in mining.
The Federal Government just gave a December deadline for mining companies to complete community development agreement in their host communities. How are the mining companies in Kano complying with this directive and what role is your ministry playing ensuring the deadline is met.?
We have done a lot in this regard. This is one of our achievement because we had community engagement process.
