The study examined the impact of laterite mining on the environment in Enugu East Local Government Area. Structural equation modeling was used for the analysis in which six latent variables were identified and their relationship with the observed variables measured. Survey research method was adopted using well-structured questionnaire to elicit information from eligible respondents using purposive sampling technique. The formula for unknown population was used to determine the sample size. The hypotheses testing, H1 showed that mining activities and loss of business opportunities are strongly and positively related giving a standardized estimate of 0.657 and significant at p<0.05. Hypothesis H2 posited a positive relationship with a standardized estimate of 0.679 at p<0.05, while H3,H4 and H5, social factors, loss of land and health factors, with standardized estimates of 0.497, 0.483 and 0.679, respectively, also showed strong and positive relationship with mining activities at p<0.05. Therefore a very strong relationship was established between laterite mining activities and the environmental and socio-economic indices. The absence of mining control through appropriate legislations could be implicated as being responsible for this menace, therefore government is enjoined to step in and regulate laterite mining as is the case with other important mineral resources in the country, to mitigate the impact.
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