Minister of Land and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, has officially opened the Secretariat of the Project Coordinating Unit of the Ghana Artisanal Small-Scale Mining (ASM) Formalization Project.
The ASM Formalization Project is under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
It is to serve as the Coordinating Unit for what is now the Ministry’s flagship project dubbed: the Multi-Sectoral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP).
According to the Minister, the Ghana Artisanal Small-Scale Mining Formalization Project, that is in sync with the broader MMIP, will ensure that there is orderly, safe, sustainable and environmentally sound development of artisanal small-scale mining in Ghana.
“This 5-year project, to begin in 2021, will be implemented across small-scale gold mining areas in Ghana and will aim to focus on improving efficiency in the artisanal small-scale mining sector,” Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh said.
He added that “the Ghana Artisanal Small-Scale Mining Formalization Project will ensure that the capacity and skills of the actors in the sector are developed and will promote the adaptation and use of safe, affordable and appropriate technology.”
According to him, specific activities under the Project are: undertaking airborne geological surveys to identify economically viable areas for small-scale mining operations; updating of the Ghana’s mineral cadastral to include ASM; establishing a one-stop-shop for all ASM permits; mainstreaming of artisanal small-scale mining into Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative; establishing and operating of ASM incubation centres, among others.
“The Ghana Artisanal Small-Scale Mining Formalization Project is therefore now the ongoing Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources’ approved long-term solution to the galamsey menace currently facing the country,” Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh noted.
The implementing agencies for the Project, he stated, are the Minerals Commission, the Lands Commission, the Forestry Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Water Resources Commission, the University of Mines and Technology, Ghana Geological Survey Authority, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company, Judicial Service and the National Security.
Meanwhile, he said the MMIP is meant to review and enforce legal and regulatory regimes of the sector, reclaim degraded lands, dredge silted estuaries and waterways and free lands for agribusiness.
He added that the MMIP is aimed at building capacities for ASMs and implementing social intervention activities.
The Minister highlighted the total registered gold production by small-scale miners which he said rose by 2.2 percent in 1989 to 28 percent of the national production in 2011 and 43.1 percent in 2018.
Despite the impressive statistics, he said, the negative impact on land, water and vegetation due to both legal and illegal small-scale mining operations, have been huge, culminating in what is now commonly referred to as galamsey.
Thus, he noted that implementing the ASM Formalization Project was key in tackling the menace of galamsey.
By Melvin Tarlue