Minerals-Commission-Trains-Staff-on-Drone-Piloting-at-Paa-Grant-University-of-Mines-and-Technology-(UMaT)

Minerals Commission Trains Staff on Drone Piloting at Paa Grant University of Mines and Technology (UMaT)

The training was structured in phases, beginning with an overview of the models in drone piloting at Burma Camp in Accra, online presentations, in-person lectures, practical field work and written examination held in Tarkwa. A final phase of the programme which is the professional certification and licensing examination on drone piloting will be conducted by Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in Accra. This programme aims at equipping staff with relevant knowledge and skills for the Commission to effectively exercise its oversight responsibilities for enhanced sustainability and responsible mining in Ghana.

The trainees are expected to be certified to operate and fly drones for monitoring mining activities across the country. Prof. Mantey said the goal of the training was to equip trainees with both theoretical and practical skills prior to certification by GCAA. He commended management of the Commission for the initiative and lauded participants for their commitment and dedication to the rigorous training. He urged participants to pursue further for the professional GCAA certification with the same enthusiasm. Participants were grateful for the training opportunity and expressed satisfaction with the professionalism of the instructors and the pedagogy. The stakeholders involved commended the Board and management of the Commission for the initiative to curb the menace of illegal mining (galamsey). Participants recommended that drones be provided by management to aid continuous practice for enhance skills and competency in the delivery of their duties.

In conclusion, the drone training exercise was successful and will complement other interventions of the Commission in the fight against illegal mining and sanitize the sector going forward.

Press-Release-on-Recent-Developments-at-Prestea-Bogoso-Mine

Press-Release-on-Recent-Developments-at-Prestea-Bogoso-Mine

It has come to the attention of the Minerals Commission (the “Commission”) that FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd the operators of the Prestea-Bogoso Mine made a verbal presentation to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (the “Ministry”) to put the Mine under Care and Maintenance. The Prestea-Bogoso Mine is currently under the control of FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd (FGR) and its principal shareholder Blue International Holdings Limited which is based in the United Kingdom. The Mine was previously operated by Golden Star Resources Limited until the asset was transferred to FGR.For the avoidance of doubt, neither the Ministry nor the Commission has received a formal application or request from FGR to put the Mine under Care and Maintenance. An application to suspend production is clearly set out in section 51 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) which requires the holder of the Mining Lease to serve a notice to that effect on the Minister. As indicated earlier, no such request or application has been submitted to the Minister. In the event that such an application is received, it shall be considered in accordance with applicable Regulations and the current state of the mine and a decision taken in the best interest of the Country.

Press_Release_on_the_Consideration_of_Mining_in_Kakum_National_Park

Major Boost for Local Banks and Ghanaian-Owned Insurance Companies.

Major Boost for Local Banks and Ghanaian-Owned Insurance Companies.

Lands Minister Commissions Network Control Infrastructure at Mincom

Lands Minister Commissions Network Control Infrastructure at Mincom

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor (MP) on Thursday, December 8, 2022 commissioned the Network Control Centre for the tracking and monitoring of Earth Moving Equipment and Explosive Trucks situated at the Minerals Commission as part of a working visit to the Commission,

Among the dignitaries present were, the Hon. Deputy Minister, Benito Owusu-Bio in charge of Lands and Forestry, Hon. Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Board Chairperson, Board members, Prof. Richard Kwasi Amankwah, Vice Chancellor of George Grant University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) and Mr. Godwin Armah, General Secretary of Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners.

In his introductory remarks, the CEO of the Minerals Commission, Mr. Martin K. Ayisi welcomed the Lands Minister Hon. Jinapor and the dignitaries and informed the gathering that the contract for the Network Control Centre was competitively awarded to UMaT, which designed and deployed the software for the Network Control Centre in line with the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2431).

In his address, the Lands Minister Hon. Jinapor applauded the exemplary work done so far by the Commission despite the challenges posed by the activities of illegal miners and pollution of some of the water bodies in the country. He stressed that the overarching objective of the Government in the mining sector is to deal with the menace of illegal mining. According to the Hon. Minister, the inauguration of the Network Control facility for the tracking and monitoring of all earth moving and mining equipment is in line with the Minerals and Mining (Mineral Operations – Tracking of Earth Moving and Mining Equipment) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2404).

He said the Ministry has adopted a dual approach of law enforcement and reformation to tackle the issue of illegal activities in the mining sector. He was excited to commission the Network Control infrastructure and said this is part of a gamut of measures put in place to sanitise the mining industry. Hon. Jinapor expressed confidence in the leadership of the Commission’s Board and Management in the fight against galamsey and the regulation of the sector. He tasked the Commission to ensure a nationwide registration of all excavators, earth moving equipment and mining explosive trucks so that the monitoring will be effective.

On her part, the Board Chairperson, Hon. Barbara Oteng Gyasi commended the Minister for his unflinching support to the Commission and enumerated various initiatives being implemented by the Minerals Commission as regulators of the mining industry. She was hopeful that the inauguration of the Network Control Room for tracking and monitoring of earth moving equipment and explosive trucks will go a long way to enhance the regulatory function of the Commission.

The Lead Consultant for the Network Control Centre, Dr. Sylvester Akpah, a Lecturer at the Computer Science and Engineering Department of UMaT, explained that the piloting of the tracking of earth moving equipment and explosive trucks had been successfully implemented and demonstrated the mechanism for monitoring the operations of the equipment and trucks fitted with unique tracking devices. He mentioned that going forward, all the earth moving equipment and explosive trucks will be fitted with tracking devices, mapped to a particular mining concession and geofenced so that once the equipment leaves a demarcated area it will be automatically shut down and only reactivated by the Control Centre. It is the expectation of the Minerals Commission that when this project is fully implemented it will improve the monitoring and tracking of earth moving equipment and explosive trucks and assist in the efforts of Government in dealing with the adverse environmental impact of illegal small scale mining activities in Ghana.

PRESS STATEMENT-ON-ALLEGED-ILLEGAL-MINING-IN-OFFIN-RIVER

PRESS STATEMENT ON ALLEGED ILLEGAL MINING IN THE OFFIN RIVER

The attention of the Minerals Commission has been drawn to a video on social media
about alleged illegal mining in the Offin River. The Commission wishes to assure the
general public that the matter is being investigated and swift and ruthless action will be
taken to deal with this and any other such illegal activities. Our resolve is resolute and
total.
Within the last two years, Government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural
Resources (MLNR) and the Commission, has introduced several measures to deal with
illegal mining, popularly referred to as “galamsey”. These measures include the
introduction of Operation Halt II, engagement with relevant stakeholders, revamping of
the Community Mining Scheme, geological investigation of designated areas to identify
mineralized areas to be allocated to small scale miners, the distribution of one hundred
(100) mercury-free equipment to ensure responsible mining and the inauguration of
District Mining Committees to monitor and supervise small scale operations. All
enforcement mechanisms as well as intelligence gathering have been enhanced on all
fronts.

Furthermore, to effectively deal with illegal mining in water bodies, the MLNR recently
commissioned five (5) speed boats which have been handed over to the Ghana Navy to
patrol Rivers Ankobra, Pra, Offin, Birim and the Black Volta. This is to ensure permanent
patrols on the water bodies as a way of preventing illegal miners from returning to mine
in our waterbodies.
The Commission wishes to reiterate its call to the media and the general public that the
fight against illegal mining should be a collective effort of all citizens. In this regard, the
Commission encourages all and sundry to support it by making available any
information on illegal mining activities such as the video in circulation, and such leads
will be acted upon with dispatch and integrity.
The Commission wishes to assure the Ghanaian public of its unflinching commitment to
the fight in sanitizing the small scale mining sector.

MARTIN KWAKU AYISI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MINERALS COMMISSION OF GHANA

ZAMBIA DELEGATION VISITS MINERALS COMMISSION

ZAMBIA DELEGATION VISITS MINERALS COMMISSION

A 4-member delegation led by the Mines and Minerals Development Minister, Mr. Paul C. Kabuswe has paid a day’s working visit to the Minerals Commission, Ghana to study their operations especially in the Small-Scale and Artisanal mining sector.

Welcoming the entourage, the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi remarked that, there is a historical antecedent to the relationship between the two countries since Kwame Nkrumah and Kenneth Kaunda’s era, therefore it’s no strange for the Minister to choose Ghana and for that matter the Minerals Commission as their point of studying the management and utilization of minerals resources and more importantly the Small-Scale mining in Ghana.

Mr. Ayisi walked the Minister and his entourage through the mandate of Commission and how it regulates the industry in Ghana, the robustness of the system when it comes to mining laws and the compliance regime which some African Countries like Sierra Leone and Tanzania have adopted.

He further noted that, Ghana has highly skilled mining professionals who are among the most sought after in the global mining industry. “Our public Universities also provide dedicated courses in minerals and mining and the Minerals Commission complements this with competency-based continuous training and development programmes for our mining professionals” he emphasized.

 A presentation on the management of Ghana’s Small-Scale Mining was delivered by the Director, Small-Scale & Industrial Minerals of Minerals Commission to the delegation.

The Zambian Minister of Mines on his part expressed satisfaction of the visit as it has afforded the delegation the opportunity to share ideas and learn more about Ghana’s mining sector and the regulatory regime especially.

He was hopeful these new experiences shared by the Commission will go a long way to help his Ministry to incorporate new ideas in developing their minerals resources development agenda. “Zambia has a lot of manganese and it’s one of the best in the world” says the Minister Kabuswe. According to Mr. Kabuswe, there is the need to restructure and formulate policies that will enable his countrymen to feel and own the minerals.

President Commissions 100 Mercury-Free Gold Processing Machines

President Commissions 100 Mercury-Free Gold Processing Machines

His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on June 6, 2022, commissioned 100 mercury-free gold processing machines for small-scale mining operators as part of Government’s efforts at ensuring responsible mining and environmental stewardship.

Commissioning the machines at the Independence Square, Accra, the President was elated that the mercury-free mineral processing technology will assist the small-scale miners to achieve three basic goals: (1) high tonnes per hour processing (2) mercury-free recovery and (3) high gold recovery.

The technology according to the President, “has the capacity to recover 90% plus of gold from the ore, far more than would have been obtained from the traditional method using mercury.” He also acknowledged the fact that the processing methods of using this technology will help reduce the pollution of water bodies and the physical environment.

The President assured that his government is not against small-scale mining but rather finding sustainable solution to the old age problem of illegal mining and environmental degradation associated with mining in Ghana.

In his welcome address, the sector minister, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor (MP) assured of Government’s continuous support to the small-scale mining sector. He said “these are few, but many measures to be rolled out by His Excellency, Akuffo Addo’s government to help stop the illegal mining menace in the country. He added that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources have also facilitated the resourcing of the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission with several logistics and personnel to perform its regulatory functions. The mercury-free gold processor known as Gold Kacha, is an innovation introduced by Commodity Monitor Limited and comes with components comprising; crusher, concentrator, miller, and smelting system.

MINCOM BOARD ATTENDS A TWO-DAY DIALOGUE ON SMALL-SCALE MINING

MINCOM BOARD ATTENDS A TWO-DAY DIALOGUE ON SMALL-SCALE MINING

A two-day Transformational Dialogue on Small-Scale Mining was held in Sunyani under the auspices of the School of Mines and Built Environment of the University of Energy and Natural Resources. The theme of the dialogue was “Enhancing multi-stakeholder approaches towards addressing challenges with artisanal and small-scale mining, and institutional dynamics for sustainable practices in Ghana”.

The Minerals Commission as part of its drive in bridging the gap between industry and academia was represented at the forum by the Board led by the Chairperson, Hon. Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, and other officials of the Commission. In her remarks, she echoed the efforts and measures put in place in curbing the menace. According to her, the Community Mining Scheme, which is currently operating in some mining communities, is one of the initiatives being implemented to stop the illegal mining. She noted further that, the Commission in collaboration with the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners have been engaging some commercial banks to provide flexible funding scheme for the Small-Scale Miners to enhance their operations.

The Chairperson assured that the Commission study the communique that will be issued at the end of the dialogue and adopt the points that are found feasible. She said, as a regulator, “we are committed to sanitizing the sector and empower the small-scale miners to mine in a responsible way for growth of the industry”.

Most of the speakers at the dialogue voiced out their displeasure about the negative impact of the environment because of illegal mining menace across the country and the lack of coordinated approach in dealing with illegal mining in the country.

CEO OF MINERALS COMMISSION ADDRESS “GHEITI” 2019 EXTRACTIVE SECTOR REPORT LAUNCH EVENT

CEO OF MINERALS COMMISSION ADDRESS “GHEITI” 2019 EXTRACTIVE SECTOR REPORT LAUNCH EVENT

The 2019 Extractive Sector (Mining, Oil & Gas) report by the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), has been launched in Accra at Alisa Hotel under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance and the GHEITI secretariat.

In his opening remarks as a special guest, Mr. Martin K. Ayisi commended the work of the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) and hailed GHEITI for the impact it is making in the extractive sector. He urged the GHEITI Secretariat and the MSG to take interest in the processes and nature of agreements adopted between licensed operators and the government. Siting the mining agreements as an example, he called on GHEITI to court public interest and participation in the processes leading to the signing of these agreements. He further encouraged GHEITI to advocate for the publication of such contracts to enhance transparency and accountability. This he opined is one of the surest ways to protect the public purse and increase revenue to support the country’s development. He indicated that with the amendments to the mining laws in the offing the Development Agreement will be a thing of the past whilst the Stability Agreement has been proposed for a maximum of 5 years. He challenged GHEITI to go beyond mere advocacy for disclosure by institutions to publish agreements, which are the basis for generating government revenue and receipts.    

In attendance at the launch was the Deputy Minister of Finance, Hon. John Ampontuah Kumah (MP), Mr. Benjamin Aryee, Special Advisor to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Deputy Minister of Energy, Hon. Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam (MP) and GHEITI Champion, and Mr. Philipp Stalder, Switzerland Ambassador to Ghana, Togo and Benin. 

Mr. Ayisi highlighted the progress made in respect of Local Content and Local Participation and ongoing efforts at enhancing and building the capacity of indigenes to ensure full participation in the mining sector. He further explained that Localization Plans are required of mining companies in respect of the engagement of indigenes. He indicated that the Local Content Procurement List has been increased from 29 to 41 items to broaden indigenes participation in the industry.  

GHEITI is the Ghana Chapter of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with the main objective of working with 55 member countries  to improve transparency and accountability in the extractive industry (mining, oil, and gas sectors).