FUNCTIONS OF THE MINE INSPECTORATE; CHALLENGES

FUNCTIONS OF THE MINE INSPECTORATE; CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS (A CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL MINISTRY OF MINES AND STEEL DEVELOPMENT IN LAGOS STATE)

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Mining in Nigeria has been in existence for over 2,400 years with first mining taking place in the form of craer mining as experienced by the people in the course of seeking for natural resources within their community to satisfy their social and economic needs. This was the issue with the very old and dateless
civilizations as seen in the Nok Culture (340 BC), the Igbo Ukwu bronze civilization (705 AD) Ife and Benin Bronze works flourished between 1163–1200 AD and 1630–1648 AD, as follows, using basic clays, base metals and gold and numerous others. Mine work is naturally dangerous and, with poor health and safety conditions and overcrowding in mine hostels, it also supported and contributed to a growing tuberculosis disease, specifically among mineworkers in the gold mining sector. Irrespective of the fact that there have been tremendous growth and improvements in the health and safety conditions at Nigeria’s mines, the Department of Mineral Resources is to a great extent concerned that deaths as a result of disasters, injuries and occupational diseases still occur in the sector.
The Mining Inspector is an authority for challenges that has to do with the Minerals Act. The Mining Inspector is chief of the Mining Inspectorate and is selected and chosen by the Government. The Mining Inspector’s duty is to carefully examine the applications and issue permits needed for exploration and
exploitation of mineral deposits and to supervise compliance with the law. The Mining Inspectorate on the other hand makes sure the needed information is made available to prospectors and mineral companies, landowners, the general public, county administrative boards and municipalities. The efficiency
and productivity of a Mines Inspectorate will be to a large extent dependent on a variety of practical matters: where and how it chooses to deploy its scarce resources; how it desires, seeks to manage and maintain its independence and hide from capture by respective stakeholders; how it communicates with trade unions and worker representatives and seeks to utilize their capacities; how it maintains and manages its skills base and how it makes sure that it has the capacity and ability to accomplish increasingly complex regulatory tasks. Mining by definition is an industry with many sides and a complex chain of activities, operations, process intensive and strongly aected by external factors starting from weather to commodities prices. Over and above these built-in issues, we would like to point out other key issues that are now the talk of the day within the mining industry. These issues comprise attracting new skilled workers, water management, regulations, and grade & quality decline.
According to a recent SME (Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration) study “Emerging Workforce Trends in the U.S. Mining Industry”, in 2019 the industry will need almost 80,000 extra replacement workers due to retirement. In other to attract new professionals to the industry and encourage young students to chase an education in mining entails a contemporary method from diverse fields and partnerships ranging from technical teams, human resources, public relations, schools, suppliers, and R&D. In the end, major goal for this industry is to introduce itself as an attractive and exciting industry for career growth and enhancement.
Water is oen times a challenge in the mining industry. Water has always been very important for the mining industry and its relevance is increasing very fast. Mining companies have an attractive track record for delivering consistent growth in safety and risk governance standards. There is no doubt that the professionalism and expertise that exist within the industry will continue to make sure that any new and emerging risk challenges are dealt with in an equally determined fashion.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL