The federal government has introduced new mining guidelines for community development

The solid minerals sector has introduced new mining guidelines for the creation of Community Development Agreements (CDAs), which the federal government has unveiled.

The launch, which took place in Abuja yesterday, was spearheaded by the Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dr. Dele Alake, at an event hosted by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy, and Development (Centre LSD), the Ministry of Solid Mineral Development, and the Ford Foundation.

Alake stated that the federal government’s aim was to make sure that host communities gained the most from mining operations and activities for the benefit of both local and national economies.

The CDA is a legal requirement that guarantees the delivery of socio-economic benefits to mining host communities, being a binding document that spells out the duties of the Mineral Title Holder (MTH) to her host community and vice versa.

The minister emphasised that the mining of mineral resources had considerable impacts on host communities, hence the need for concerned communities to be involved in the affairs of the sector.