Minerals Commission to streamline small- scale mining
The Minerals Commission is to streamline artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations in order to check the menace of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
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Plans are also far-advanced for the commission to recategorise ASM operations into large, medium and small scale in order to regularise their activities more effectively and efficiently.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the commission, Dr Tony Aubynn, made this known at a multi-stakeholder forum on the development of the small-scale mining sector in Accra.
The maiden forum was organised by the ASM Africa-Network (ASMAN) and it sought to bring together state and non-state actors in the quest to attain a sustainable ASM industry.
Significant sector
Speaking at the forum, Dr Aubynn said ASM was a significant sub-sector, as it provided livelihood for many people and had the potential to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth.
He said ASM contributed 34.3 per cent of total gold and 100 per cent of diamond production in the country in 2013.
He said the commission had issued ASM licences to 1,300 people throughout the country and the number was increasing.
Cabinet approval
Dr Aubynn announced that the commission had received Cabinet approval for amendments to the Minerals and Mining Act to criminalise offenders of small-scale mining, saying that would enable the commission to deal with those who flouted its laws.
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“The commission is also developing a tracking mechanism, in collaboration with the Driver and vehicle Licence Authority (DVLA), to track mining equipment in the country, especially excavators,” he said.
The Executive Director of ASMAN, Nii Adjetey Kofi-Mensah, called on the government to put in place committees of the various stakeholders to study and adopt workable ASM models, as pertained in other parts of the continent, to tackle the galamsey menace.
ASM industry
He said a country such as Tanzania had managed to regularise its ASM industry, saying Ghana could do same by learning from Tanzania.
He said galamsey had now taken an uncontrollable turn, resulting in an increasing number of abandoned, insecure and unsafe pits scattered all over the country.
Nii Kofi-Mensah indicated that in spite of the wealth small-scale mining engendered, the miners and their host communities were faced with serious developmental challenges, environmental concerns, poverty and communicable diseases.