Fourteen years later, unregulated gold mining in Zamfara State, Nigeria, is still causing problems for people and the environment

“The bandits came around 2 am in the middle of the night to attack our community. I was heavily pregnant with my baby, then everybody was running helter-skelter..."

Women and children displaced from their villages by the activities of bandits associated with illegal mining in Zamfara State. Credit: Khadijah Abdulrazaq for The Habibat Project

Introduction of the issue on ground

Illicit artisanal mining in Zamfara State is now “a tale as old as time.” Zamfara is rich in deposits of gold, zinc, copper, and many other mi…