In its bid to boost electricity supply to residents of Edo State, the Edo State government has granted a license to Chinese firms to begin exploration with a view to generating electricity from coal deposits in the state.
The firms are also to produce cement as well as ceramic tiles from clay.
Edo Commissioner for Mining, Andrew Ijegbai, who disclosed this in an interview, said Governor Okpebholo has given marching orders to the Ministry to carry out exploration of minerals across the state.
Ijegbai expressed optimism that revenue from the Ministry of Mining in a few years would be enough to run the state.
He said the feasibility study would show how many megawatts of electricity would be generated from coal.
The Commissioner for Mining said Governor Okpebholo has curtailed the activities of illegal miners in the state, adding that five illegal mining groups have been charged in court.
According to him, “Okpebholo has released a lot of money for us to do lots of exploration to find out various minerals we have. We have two Chinese companies that have signed an MOU to embark on cement production. The Governor just signed that about a month ago. They will start operations very soon.
“We cannot quantified potentials of Edo solid minerals. Imagine the contract agreement we signed with the Chinese firms to commence cement production. It will generate lots of money.
They will be involved in quarrying, they will use our coal to generate electricity and use our clay to produce tiles. It is kind of four in one project. It is going to generate lots of income. By the time it kicks off, it will create lots of jobs.
“Anybody mining in Edo these days is required to get the necessary documentation. Before now, people just obtained a license from the federal government without the consent of the communities. They go into the bush and start mining, and they will tell you they have a license. But these days, we ensure the miners collect consent of the community who is the property owner.
“We want to start the operation Community Development Agreement (CDA). Most of those miners even engage in divide and rule. They will be mining and at the same time causing a crisis. The community will be fighting itself while the mining activities are ongoing. We have gotten series of petitions with regard to miners who refused to honour the CDA. We will stop the miners. We cannot fold our hands and watch our people being shortchanged.”
