FG Deploys Mine Officers to Collapsed Zamfara Mining Pit

Mines Officers have been deployed by the Federal Government to Yabaka Village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State to lead rescue operations following a mine pit collapse. At least 15 mine workers were reported to have been trapped after the collapse which was caused by heavy rainfall and ...

Mines Officers have been deployed by the Federal Government to Yabaka Village in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State to lead rescue operations following a mine pit collapse.

At least 15 mine workers were reported to have been trapped after the collapse which was caused by heavy rainfall and worsened by illegal mining .

However, according to a statement by the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, 13 bodies have been recovered, but sadly no one survived.

In an official statement issued on Sunday, Segun Tomori, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, clarified that 13 bodies have so far been recovered from the site—not more than 100, as initially reported by some media outlets and local residents.

Efforts are still underway to recover the remaining two workers.

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, described the incident as both avoidable and unfortunate.

Preliminary findings showed that the area is made up of loose sand with traces of gold, making it suitable for alluvial mining. Once gold was discovered, illegal miners quickly brought in workers using crude tools, ignoring the dangers.

Minister Alake described the incident as “tragic and entirely preventable,” noting that illegal miners had descended on the site using crude tools after discovering gold, with little regard for environmental or safety standards.

He condemned the unlawful mining activity and reiterated the government’s commitment to cracking down on such operations.

“We will intensify our crackdown on illegal mining using advanced tools like satellite monitoring and stricter law enforcement. Our resolve is clear: we will not allow illegal miners to continue endangering lives and plundering national resources,” Alake declared.

The ministry also confirmed that a full investigation into the collapse is underway and reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy on illegal mining, warning that those found culpable will face the full force of the law.