The Acting Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Mr. Samuel Gyamfi, has announced that the government, under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, is set to establish district-based licensing offices for small scale mining throughout Ghana. This initiative aims to dismantle the current centralized licensing process that often burdens miners.
During a stakeholder engagement event with Chiefs, elders, and small scale miners in the Upper East Region, Mr. Gyamfi articulated the importance of these district offices. He stated, “And they will tell you that President John Dramani Mahama has made it clear that he wants to decentralize the licensing process. We are going to stop the centralization of small-scale licensing in Accra. And we want to break the license application and issuance to every district to make it easy. So, very soon the minerals commission and the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources will work on that. Where you can go to your district office, you’ll see the minerals commission that you can apply. It doesn’t have to go to Accra. You don’t have to pay a bribe. You don’t have to wait for one year or two years. You get your licenses, and you go and do your legal mining.”
Mr. Gyamfi emphasized the government’s commitment to support responsible mining practices, saying, “We are going to support those who want to do mining legally and responsibly.”
He also highlighted that, in addition to the licensing offices, President Mahama is prepared to make provisions for small-scale miners by designating specific areas as concessions tailored for their operations. “However,” Mr. Gyamfi noted, “another support that President John Mahama is ready to provide through the minerals commission and the Ministry of Land is to make sure that we zone and dedicate special areas as concessions for small-scale miners. Especially in this part of the country.”
Furthermore, he pointed out the challenges faced by miners who lack adequate equipment, stating, “We know that most of you have concessions, but you don’t have enough money to buy enough equipment. To use them all. Today, we want to do hard rock milling and drilling machines, but you need machines for prospecting. So that you don’t do the mining like lotto. You don’t do trial and error. You don’t do luxury mining in today’s age. If you have the right prospecting machine, you will know where the real ore is,” he cautioned, urging miners not to recklessly destroy the land in their quest for gold.
Source : mywordfmonline.com/ Gaspard Ayuureneeya