The Ghanaian government, through the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry, has announced plans to introduce significant reforms in the mining sector. The proposed reforms aim to decentralize the mining licensing process, allowing for community participation and addressing the issue of illegal small-scale mining. According to Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the licensing process will begin at the district and community levels, rather than being handled exclusively by regulatory institutions in Accra.
The proposed legislation, currently before Parliament, seeks to establish district mining committees comprising District Chief Executives to ensure local authorities are actively involved in decisions concerning mining operations. This move is expected to address coordination challenges, where some mining operators obtain licences without adequate knowledge of the communities, farmlands, and forest reserves affected by their operations. The minister explained that the existing licensing arrangement has created these challenges, and the reforms aim to address them.
The proposed law also introduces medium-scale mining opportunities for Ghanaians while tightening the conditions for holding exploration licences. Exploration licences will be limited to a maximum of five years, with companies expected to demonstrate progress within the first two years. Operators who fail to discover commercially viable mineral deposits within the stipulated period will be required to surrender the concessions, allowing communities to return the lands to productive use.
The minister disclosed that the proposed reforms will eliminate reconnaissance licences and address situations where individuals hold large mining concessions for several decades without undertaking meaningful exploration activities. Additionally, mining companies will be required to enter into community mining agreements as part of their broader mining leases. This move aims to ensure that mining communities benefit directly from the resources extracted from their lands, particularly through investments in education, healthcare, and local expertise development.
The environmental consequences of illegal mining are a major concern, with approximately 9,000 hectares of forest reserves destroyed through mining activities. The minister described the scale of environmental degradation as a major national concern. The government is prioritizing the reclamation of degraded lands and the restoration of forest reserves through tree-planting initiatives. Furthermore, over 60 per cent of Ghana's water bodies have been polluted, posing serious environmental and public health risks, particularly in mining communities.
To address the challenge of illegal mining, the government has commenced reclamation initiatives and trained about 2,500 people across more than 10 regions to support environmental restoration activities. The government will strengthen collaboration between the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), Regional Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that anti-illegal mining operations are properly coordinated. Local authorities must be involved in enforcement activities, with intelligence-led operations not undermining the coordination responsibilities of Regional Ministers and district assemblies.
The government's Responsible Cooperative Mining Programme is a key alternative to illegal small-scale mining. The initiative has trained more than 10,000 miners and established over 20 mining cooperatives, with a target of establishing 70 cooperatives by the end of the year. The programme seeks to organise small-scale miners into regulated cooperatives, provide them with technical expertise and training, and create opportunities for responsible mining. The minister emphasized that the government does not seek to abolish mining but to ensure that the sector operates responsibly, with adequate protection for the environment and the country's water resources.
Key points
- The proposed reforms aim to decentralize the mining licensing process and strengthen community participation.
- The government is prioritizing the reclamation of degraded lands and the restoration of forest reserves through tree-planting initiatives.
- The Responsible Cooperative Mining Programme has trained more than 10,000 miners and established over 20 mining cooperatives.
