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Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has announced a new initiative to restructure and regulate Ghana’s small-scale mining sector. The move is part of the government’s broader effort to promote sustainable and responsible mining practices.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, March 19, the minister revealed that a Technical Small-Scale Mining Review Committee has been established to ensure all mining operations comply with legal and environmental regulations. The committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, will thoroughly assess all small-scale mining licenses across the country.
“The committee is to audit all licenses to ensure that they were properly acquired, that due process was followed, that they meet all conditions of continuous validity with respect to how they have followed the rules on the environment and then how they have dealt with the issues of our water bodies, our forest reserves, and land preservation,” he stated.
He further explained that the review process would uphold critical environmental and regulatory standards to determine the legitimacy of licenses.
“All those standards are going to be the guide in which these licenses will be sustained. They are also to ensure permitting fees and all those requirements by all the agencies—EPA, Minerals Commission, Water Resources Commission—that all those processes required have been met.”
The initiative is expected to bring greater accountability to the small-scale mining sector and curb illegal activities that threaten Ghana’s natural resources.
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