The Senate has called for a new law seeking tighter regulation and stiffer penalties for mining activities in the country as it received news of the death of 20 workers during a landslide that occurred in Alufele, Enjema District, within the Ankpa coal mining area of Kogi State.
The incident, which happened on July 14, resulted from “significant ground failure”, leading to the death of the workers and leaving several others seriously injured.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Senator Isah Jibrin, brought the incident to the attention of the Senate as a matter of urgent national importance, noting that unsafe methods deployed by artisanal miners placed the lives of Nigerians at high risk.
“Many of the miners operating within these coal fields work under informal arrangements without written contracts of employment, social security protection, health insurance, life insurance or occupational hazard insurance, thereby leaving victims and their families without any form of financial protection whenever mining accidents occur”, Jibrin informed the Senate.
Lawmakers called for tighter regulation and penalties against offenders, beginning with an audit of licensed miners in “their areas of mining activities in Nigeria.”
They proposed a new bill to establish a mining workers’ compensation scheme to be funded through mandatory contributions by mining firms and operators.
The scheme will, among others, provide compensation for occupational injuries, permanent disabilities, occupational diseases, and deaths arising from mining activities.
The Senate also asked the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, to develop compulsory occupational accident insurance for “all categories of miners, including artisanal and small-scale miners operating under recognised mining cooperatives or community mining arrangements.”
A mine rehabilitation and victims’ support fund was also proposed to provide “emergency medical treatment” and support for the “children of deceased miners.”