Comply with international standards to stay in business - Oheneba Poku Foundation to mining companies

The evolving mining space could shut some countries out of the minerals trading market if they fail to comply with international sourcing standards, the Chief Executive Officer of Oheneba Poku Foundation, Fred Kyei Sapong, has said.

He said while various guidelines and frameworks already existed in the mining space, industry operators should not wish away the demand for a common "gold standard" in sourcing.

Mr Kyei Sapong, whose foundation was a supporting partner at the Africa Minerals workshop organised by the Africa Minerals Strategy Group in Dubai last Monday, said drastic measures could be deployed to compel conformity with sourcing standards, particularly in Africa.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the workshop which formed part of the wider Dubai Precious Metals Conference 2024, he said issues with minerals sourcing had taken the front seat at different fora because of emerging trends regarding compliance and sustainability.

The Africa Minerals Strategy Group is leading a continent-wide campaign to streamline mineral sourcing in Africa.

The initiative is to support African countries to comply with responsible sourcing guidelines and anti-money laundering.

It also aims to combat terrorism financing regulations to achieve transparency, traceability, accountability and sustainability in Africa’s minerals and mining sector through collaboration and collective engagements.

Way forward

Mr Kyei Sapong said the way forward was to structure the system in a manner that would work within the context of Africa and still be globally acceptable in practice.

The foundation, he added, was engaged in "environmental stewardship" by sensitising communities to take charge of their environment through proactive projects.

The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Koney, who shared similar sentiments, said that the risk of being closed out from the minerals trading market was real and imminent.

He said the mining industry was an area commonly believed to be used to clean up money laundering practices, for which reason more stringent regimes were emerging to sanitise the sector.

Campaign

Mr Koney said the responsible mining sourcing campaign would also help in the fight against illegal and irresponsible mining practices.

The effort, he said, was not uncommon, stressing that similar actions had been taken under various circumstances to ensure compliance with standard practices.

“Indeed, the EU has stringent requirements regarding cocoa farming practices where the body frowns upon the use of child labour, for instance, in the sector.

“Similarly, the same body has strict rules governing timber imports into European jurisdiction where smuggled or timber not accessed with the requisite licence were discouraged, and could earn a country a complete ban of its product on the European market,” Mr Koney added.

He said those measures were checks that ensured compliance for sustainability purposes.