Gov’t to Finally Lift Ban on Small-Scale Mining

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) has announced government’s decision to rescind the ban placed on small-scale mining before the close of the year.

Though not clear on a specific time for the rescission, the Chairman for IMCIM, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, said the much-awaited plan will come to fusion after government has properly meted plans and strategies intended to end illegal mining.

An indefinite moratorium was put in place on April 1, 2017 to suspend artisanal and small-scale mining operations throughout the country.

Speaking at press conference held in Accra, yesterday, to outdoor the Road Map towards the lifting of the ban on Artisanal and Small-scale mining, Prof. Boateng said the withdrawal of the ban may be met with mixed reactions by the Ghanaian populace.

“There will be many who will say that the water bodies are still polluted and so the ban must be maintained. On the other hand, there will be those who will argue that hundreds if not millions of Ghanaians whose incomes are related to small-scale mining are under extreme pressure that they can no longer cope with the sustained ban,” he admitted.

Road Map

Prof Frimpong Boateng who is also Minister for Environment Science and Innovation said, several measures were in place as part of a roadmap to streamline activities in the sector.

According to him, about 3000 small-scale miners had been trained with thousands of illegal miners yet to be schooled on sustainable mining and minerals processing practices.

“There has also been extensive public education of the dangers and effects of illegal mining. Also, the IMCIM has devised extensive and intrusive monitoring mechanisms to make sure that after the ban is lifted, miners would not go back to the bad old way,” he stated.

GalamSTOP

Also, part of the comprehensive roadmap is government’s adoption of technology driven strategies to combat the menace of galamsey.

Key among the technologies is a software called GalamSTOP, which will monitor the activities of illegal miners.

According to Prof. Boateng, the computer application would integrate all regulatory bodies to fight illegal mining.

“Measures that include regular visits to mining concessions, use of remote sensing and satellite imagery and drones and more importantly the integration of the activities of these regulatory agencies through a computer application we call GalamStop have been devised.

“So, the Minerals Commission, EPA, Water Resources Commission, Forestry Commission, MMDCEs will be integrated through this software application,” he said.

All these agencies, Prof Frimpong-Boateng, said, have been well equipped with the necessary resources to enable them carry out their regulatory functions.

Mining excavators across the country are also expected to receive electronic tracking devices that will monitor their activities.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]