IMPACT OF MINE CLOSURE ON THE BARITES MINING COMMUNITIES IN NASARAWA STATE: A QUALITATIVE RESPONES APPROARCH

This study attempts an evaluation of the impacts of mine closure on the Barites mining communities in Nasarawa state. It uses descriptive and inferential approaches; it employed changes in disposable income, aggregate demand, population, economic activities, and hectare of land degraded as the basis for the evaluation of the social and economic implication of mine closure on the livelihood of the Barites mining communities in the state. Data were generated from primary source and analyzed using Logistic regression technique. The study established that closure of Barites mining activities in the state has slowed down economic activities as well as the livelihood capabilities of the mining communities. The study posits that closure in the mining activities has brought some implications in the area of employment opportunities; decrease disposable income and wealth creation. It however dislocates the social values of the inhabitants leading to high rate of crime, and alarming percentage of teenage pregnancy, HIV AIDS and broken marriages. The study suggests that both the mining companies and the government should mitigate these challenges by providing the mining communities with the essential threshold of life that may re-engineer their livelihood back where it was before the mining activities. Apart from this, the closure of mines should follow a gradual and adaptive processes, as well as legal procedure with adequate consultation with the inhabitants taken into account that the mine is their chief source of livelihood.