How many more must die? Nigeria’s mining safety reckoning

2026-02-21 - 04:36

By Gilbert Joseph Jos – On Wednesday, February 18, the country awoke to yet another damning, and avoidable reality check: the perilous risks a teeming youthful population undertakes in a desperate bid to earn a living. Across Nigeria’s mineral-rich belts, young men descend several metres underground, burrowing through suffocating tunnels in search of mineral resources. At the end of the chain, they take mere crumbs, while powerful interests feed off their sweat, tears, blood, and far too often, their lives. The latest tragedy in Kampani Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, has once again forced the nation to confront this recurring nightmare. Such incidents only gain national traction when the death toll is staggering. This time, it was 37 lives. Preliminary investigations by the Police indicate that the victims died following a sudden discharge of lead oxide and other associated gases, including sulphur and carbon monoxide — substances highly toxic to humans. Trapped deep within narrow shafts, the young miners reportedly choked on the fumes, unable to escape the suffocating tunnels that became their graves. One striking detail distinguishes this incident from many artisanal mining disasters in the state: the miners were not operating independently. According to the Plateau State Government through the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joyce Ramnap, the site is owned by Solid Unit Nig. Ltd. How the company permitted its workers to operate without adequate safety measures, and possibly without proper training, points to a broader systemic failure: regulatory negligence and weak enforcement of mining safety standards. Yusuf Salihu Sadiq, a local miner at Kampani Zurak who narrowly escaped death because he was off-shift, recounted the routine dangers they face. “We work there always to get our daily bread, not just those of us from this community, but others from neighbouring communities. Because of insecurity around the Local Government, many miners abandoned their sites and came to Zurak. “We were assigned shifts so everyone could be accommodated. Unfortunately, this happened to them, and 25 others are currently receiving treatment in hospital.” With safety concerns now at the forefront, Sadiq acknowledged that the presence of toxic gases was not unprecedented. “I think this is more to do with fate because we have had such experiences and survived them. But this came at a proportion we never imagined and it consumed our colleagues. I doubt even with sophisticated equipment the danger would have been completely averted,” he said. Even so, experts argue that modern detection systems, ventilation structures and emergency response mechanisms significantly reduce such fatalities, safeguards glaringly absent in many informal and poorly regulated mining operations. The Plateau State Government, despite previous attempts to reposition the mining sector, is once again left mourning. On February 21, 2025, Governor Caleb Mutfwang signed Executive Order 001 of 2025, temporarily suspending all mining activities before later relaxing the restriction. In the wake of the Kampani Zurak disaster, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, has ordered the immediate shutdown of all mining activities in the affected area. Yet the haunting question persists: how many such tragedies must occur before preventive measures replace reactive condolences? This is far from an isolated incident. In June 2024, the Federal Government intervened after a mining site collapsed in Galadima Kogo, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, killing 30 miners. In September 2025, at least 100 people reportedly died when a gold mining pit caved in Zamfara State, according to survivors and residents. For Plateau State and other mining hubs, the pattern is grimly familiar. Young Nigerians, driven by unemployment and poverty, continue to gamble their lives underground for the faint promise of economic survival. The fundamental question remain, how many more lives must be lost before authorities enforce a truly safe mining environment?