Miners find renewed hope from solid minerals revival

AS THE early morning sun stretched long shadows across the rocky terrain of a small mining site in Nigeria's central state of Nasarawa, 43-year-old Abubakar Musa, a third-generation artisanal miner, sifted meticulously through the freshly unearthed soil.

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For about two decades, Musa’s livelihood - like that of countless informal miners across Africa’s most populous country - was a precarious gamble. His work teetered on the edge of legality, exposed to market volatility and rife with exploitation.

But today, a quiet confidence radiates from him. “Things have truly changed,” Musa told Xinhua in a recent interview, a glint of hope lighting his eyes. “We now work with dignity, and our future feels secure.”

Musa’s optimism captures the remarkable transformation sweeping through Nigeria's solid minerals sector, now two years into President Bola Tinubu’s administration.