At the invitation of the World Gold Council, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor, Lands and Natural Resources minister opened a three-day workshop on the role of large scale gold mining companies in promoting responsible small scale gold mining.
The workshop, comes a few weeks after the minister called on the Ghana Chamber of Mines to take a more active role in the fight against illegal mining.
He indicated that “Large scale mining and small scale mining, are two sides of the same coin. They are both aimed at exploiting our mineral resources for the benefit of our people, using different methods and resources. They can, and they must, mutually co-exist”.
“Undoubtedly, the large scale mining sector is one of the highly regulated industries in our country. But we cannot have one aspect of the industry promoting environmentally-sound practices, while the other is destroying the gains made” the minister stated.
According to Hon. Abu Jinapor, large scale mining companies that use highly skilled methods must, therefore, bring their experiences to bear, and work closely with small scale miners to ensure that they, also, mine responsibly and sustainably.
He insisted “The Government of President Akufo-Addo remains committed to building a viable, sustainable, responsible and environmentally-sound small scale mining industry that contributes, meaningfully, to our national economy, and we will continue to work with all stakeholders, both domestic and international, to promote responsible small scale mining”.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
