ABSTRACT
Large-scale commercial open cast mining for tin began on the Jos Plateau in 1904 (Figure 9.1). From the outset, all mining activities (up to and including ore extraction) were controlled by statute. This involved regulations concerning the details of mining lease operation and holding, and the need for compensation payments to be made to local farmers for loss of their land. Compensation amounted to payments of ten times the annual cropping value of such land, plus the value of any standing crop. It was not until 1946, however, when the Ordinances of the Government of Nigeria were redrafted, that a revised Minerals Act made reference to the requirement for reclamation and restoration of mined areas (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1946). Responsibility for the enforcement of all aspects of this legislation which was initially in the hands of the North Region government, passed to the Benue-Plateau state government in 1968, and, finally, from 1976, to a joint group of Plateau state and federal government agencies (Alexander, 1989a).
