An official of Ghana Manganese Company showing Hon. Mike Hammah a mined out area that has been reclaimed, during his tour of the company.
Mike Hammah, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has revealed that his ministry has embarked on reforms in the Minerals and Mining Act 2007 to help stem conflicts between companies and mining communities in which they operated by providing clear guidelines in the negotiation of compensation and re-settlement claims.
The review of the Act would also take care of licensing procedures, health and safety standards of the various mining companies and the regulation of explosives among others.
In this direction, the minister explained that work on a new draft national mining policy which would provide a further boost to the mining industry has also reached an advanced stage, and added that the new policy “will help plant the Minerals and Mining laws in the appropriate regulatory framework to effectively address emerging trends in the industry”.
Hon Mike Hammah made the disclosure during his interaction with management of mining companies he visited during his recent tour of the Western region.
The familiarization tour afforded the minister the opportunity to acquaint himself with the operations of these companies and brainstorm on strategies to address pertinent problems militating against the growth of the industry.
Companies he visited included Kinross Chirano Gold Limited in Sefwi-Bibiani, Golden Star Resources Limited in Bogoso. He also went to Goldfield Ghana Limited located at Tarkwa, Ghana Manganese Company Limited, Nsuta and Adamus Resources Limited in Nkroful.
At all the mining companies, the minister reiterated government’s commitment to forge symbiotic relationships with the private sector in a manner that would empower the sector to play a leading role in contributing to the overall development of the nation.
Mr Hammah recognized the immense contribution mining companies had been making towards the development of the communities in which they operated and the nation as a whole.
He revealed that new guidelines were also being developed to help formalise corporate social responsibility programmes to ameliorate the pains of mining communities who bore the brunt of mining operations.
Apart from plans to streamline small scale and illegal mining in the mining sector through registration procedures to ease the spate of galamsey operators on the concessions of large scale operations, the minister also assured the mining companies that the national security committee would be adequately resourced to enable them clamp down on the growing menace.
The mining companies also reiterated their commitment to use latest technology and environmentally friendly extraction practices in their operations as highlighted by Golden Star Resources’ submission that $100m would be sourced to upgrade infrastructure to pave way for the commencement of its underground operations at Prestea.
Most mining companies lamented that in spite of efforts to develop local managerial expertise in fulfilment of government’s local content policy, they were still compelled to depend on expatriates because Ghanaians, with the requisite expertise and experience, preferred to work abroad as expatriates. For example, Goldfields Ghana Limited reported a turnover rate of 22% annually for Ghanaian mining professionals.
On the issue of stability agreements with some mining companies, the industry called for a levelled playing field for all operators.
Some mining companies felt the new taxes announced by government would not only reduce their profit margins but also could stifle future investment in the industry.
Chirano mines called for a review in government’s plans to impose the windfall tax, stressing that would saddle it with an additional $3m in tax obligations.
Other challenges cited by the operators included the rising operational cost, power outages and fluctuations, growing challenge of galamsey operators on their concessions and the need to enhance the institutional capacity of government agencies, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency, to step up its monitoring and regulatory activities.
By Emelia Ennin Abbey
