Relatively small Somali-owned mining companies prospecting for gold in largely untapped mountainous areas in the Sanaag region of Somaliland have struck rich.
According to the first reports released from the area, miners using basic digging machinery have, for the first time in the history of the area, struck mother lodes of the much-valued ore that promise richer yields.
Taking advantage of licenses that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources formally granted a number of prospecting companies, local investors took heart and imported machinery that freed them from the traditionally arduous hand-digging that had been the norm since now. 
Following the concessions, the companies also hired foreign expertise with the full blessing of the state represented by regional authorities which did not only provide encouragement but security, too.
The patience of companies such as Tacab mining Company appears to have paid off now as gold which is far more than the occasional handful of nuggets has been struck.
The Ministry has not yet officially demarcated mining areas but the government is expected to soon declare potential areas in the Irshida and other Golis Range mountains to the east and west of the regional capital, Erigavo, exclusively mining zones.
According to more recently published reports, not only the east of the country is rich in minerals and oil but almost every inch of Somaliland seems to be a potential El Dorado blessed with type of precious deposits or oil of one kind or another and trillions of Dollars worth of coal, too.
#Somaliland is the new potential gemstone-bearing area comparable to Madagascar or Tanzania. Recent geological surveys indicate that Somaliland has abundant deposits of gemstones, from emerald to aquamarine, ruby, and sapphire as well as vast amounts of garnet, quartz, and opal. pic.twitter.com/gSFd8J0Lj1
— Abdirashid Ibrahim (@cabdirashed) January 10, 2019
READ ALSO: Somaliland: Sanaag Region New Source of Rare Earth Elements
Its clear all Somaliland had huge raw resources which former regimes cared less but now the President of Somaliland H.E. Honorable Muse Bihi Abdi had gave much care to the Mineral & Gemstones prospects and also different Energy of Gas & Oil will export as soon as possible, so we heard the good news that many Companies decided to invest this virgin Provinces in Somaliland and even the other southern land of Great Somali near Mogadishu Shepelle River Basin which we hope lays much depost of Gold Dust and precious minerals & Gems. Thanks Allah. Your honest Senior Ecologist: Dr. Hasan Diriye abdi-hotto farah.