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    "id": 531419,
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    "content": "consider those kinds of agreements. The Mineral Rights Board will also advise on areas that are suitable for small scale and artisanal mining and areas which mining operations may be restricted or excluded. It may also declare certain minerals as strategic minerals and may also advise on fees, charges and royalties that are payable. Finally, I want to talk about general provisions in this Bill such as the various categories of mineral rights from Clause 40 downwards. We have two major categories; large scale operations and small scale operations. The large scale operations in terms of mineral rights include reconnaissance licenses, prospecting licenses, retention licenses and mining licenses. For small scale operations you have prospecting permit and mining permit. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are very many other technical and very extensive provisions on what happens in light of each and every of those categories that I have highlighted. But allow me to highlight two other things before I end my remarks. The first one is that mineral rights under the new Bill will not be granted without conditions as has been the case before where you are given a block to prospect for a certain mineral and then that is it. There are certain conditions, if you look at Clause 42 of the Bill which may be imposed including conditions that you must protect the environment because we have seen how mineral exploration has turned some places on this earth into hell on earth. The Niger Delta is a glaring example of how exploration of mineral oil has become a huge curse for the people of the Niger Delta despite those communities being the host and, therefore, supposed to be the beneficiaries of that wealth. There might be conditions regarding the safety of prospecting and mining operations. We have seen people collapse and buried alive in mines. So, the grant of those permits and licenses must be subjected to health and safety conditions. But also very important is the issue of conditioning the maximum number of blocks per person or company, so that we do not have one prospector carrying all the licenses or a cartel of two or three prospectors, carrying licenses and yet, they do not have the technical capacity, the financial capability or the wherewithal to even prospect and do the mining itself. So, there might be conditions on how many blocks for exploration one can be licensed to do. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, under Clause 45, the beneficiaries of mineral rights must also have registered offices, once again to avoid briefcases. This is one area which has been abused. I said that I was concluding, but just allow me to highlight one last thing that I think is important; the requirement or rather the recognition in this Bill of small- scale artisanal mining operations, especially those that have been going on customarily. In spite of the fact that any mineral, wherever found belongs to the state, the national Government, in trust of the people, there is nothing in this Bill that makes it illegal. In fact, it says:- “Nothing prevents the taking of soil, clay iron, salt or soda from any land except land subject to a mining right from which it has been the custom of the members of the community to which that persons belongs” In other words, there are things that are customarily done. Some kind of small scale and customary mining activities are not affected by the operation of this Bill. As I The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}