Minerals Commission of Ghana in collaboration with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies will from April 2016 embark on a nation-wide registration exercise of the illegal miners and organised them into co-operatives.
The move, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the commission, Dr. Tony Aubyn, will go a long way to addressing the age-long illegal mining activities which have been destroying water bodies and fertile farmlands in the country.
Addressing a crowded press conference in Accra yesterday, Dr. Aubyn noted that each group or corporation of the yet-to-be registered miners would have a clear structure with key responsibilities, adding that the miners when registered will be given training to conduct their activities in a safe and environmentally appropriate manner.
He noted that government’s decision to overhaul and re-categorise small-scale mining stemmed from the fact that it has always recognised small-scale mining as a major contributor to the nation’s economy, contributing over one-third of “our gold production and employing over a million people.”
Speaking on theme; “Media Encounter on the Small-Scale Mining Sub-Sector in Ghana,” Dr. Aubyn pointed out that the commission intends to embark on a nationwide stakeholders’ engagement to explain the new minerals and mining framework as well as solicit their views on it to ensure the materialisation of the new framework.
He noted that under the model, all registered members of the various cooperative groups will be issued with personal ID cards and their activities will be monitored by mining wardens across the country.
Dr. Aubyn asserted that the registered cooperative groups will be provided with the necessary technical support to enable them mine profitably, efficiently and sustainably.
He pointed out that the commission will continue to earmark grounds for some geological investigations on them to identify suitable areas for small-scale mining, adding that such grounds will be made available to the registered cooperative groups at a minimum fee to partly pay for the cost of the geological studies.
Expatiating on the registration and tracking of excavators of miners, Dr. Aubyn averred that a proposal to track earth moving equipment in mining areas has received favourable response from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah Mills.
He also disclosed that twenty-four (24) out of the District Mining Committees (DMC) have been inaugurated and have started functioning.
Nine (9) out of the 24 DMCs have been trained in policy and legal issues, he further revealed.
Additionally, he mentioned that these District Mining Committees by law will be supporting the various district offices of the Minerals Commission in managing activities of small-scale mining in the districts.
“It is our firm conviction that with the training offered them, they will be able to complement the commission’s efforts at implementing initiatives to sanitise the small-scale mining sub-sector,” he contended.
Dr. Aubyn stressed that the re-categorisation of mining in Ghana was long overdue, adding that every effort must be made to ensure that this was done within the shortest possible time.
Since the ultimate objective of the project is to regulate activities of small scale miners in Ghana, he said there was the need to incentivise the various categories in order to encourage them to formalise their activities.
He noted that licensing requirement, for example, will be reviewed to make it easier for one to acquire a license.
Also, measures should be put in place to ensure strict compliance with environmental guidelines.
He, therefore, called on all unlicensed miners to look forward to forming cooperatives so that they can regularise their operations to enjoy technical assistance, and supervision provided by government to enable them operate in a conducive environment as well as mine profitably.
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