The government had kept mum since then, returning in January 2020 to instruct artisanal refiners in the oil-polluted region to form cooperatives and obtain modular refinery licenses.
Following the move by the federal government to standardise artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the North as well as Osun State, observers in the Niger Delta are pleading with the federal government to adapt the policy to oil refining in the South-South region of the country.
He noted that they have to raise $50,000 to obtain a license and acquire 10 to 15 hectares of land, before seeking an investor to purchase a $150m to $250m modular refining unit. He added, “The youths, who are involved in artisanal refining here, can’t afford 10 to 15 hectares of land. They cannot survey the lands. They cannot construct a modular refinery which costs between $150m to $200m. They also do not have the $50,000 that is needed to obtain a license to operate.
While the presidency left its promise to the Niger Delta unfulfilled, it implemented its plans for the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative .
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