Samuel Abu Jinapor, the minister of lands and natural resources, has given 95 additional mining licences to small-scale miners.
The Minerals and Mining Act of 2006 (Act 703), which grants the sector minister the authority and discretion to sign mining licences, was followed when the licences were signed and granted.
The minister instructed everyone involved in small-scale mining to become members of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM) as a matter of necessity when granting the licences during a ceremony last Tuesday in Accra.
The GNASSM national executives, who were led by its General Secretary, Godwin Armah, were given the licences.
Although Act 703 required the Minerals Commission to provide approved licences for the minister's signature, Mr. Jinapor indicated that he had to evaluate the applications to make sure that no licence ended up in the wrong hands.
Any small-scale miner who refused to comply with GNASSM, according to him, would be considered an unlawful miner.
To get rid of illicit miners, the government has implemented many initiatives. Although we have made some minor progress, we are aware that some people have now become what we refer to as "all-night miners" in spite of our best efforts.
The minister declared, "We will not permit them to continue in this lawlessness.
Interventions
The minister said that the government had made several measures to regularise the sector and that a robust small-scale mining sector was the key to a thriving mining industry.
He stated that actions taken to strategically position the small scale mining sector to benefit the nation included regulatory reforms, improved geological investigations, the community mining programme, the introduction of mining equipment free of mercury, and financial assistance to small-scale miners.
Despite these measures, illicit mining still poses the biggest danger to the industry, according to Mr. Jinapor.
He noted that eliminating the threat and normalising the industry requires an organised effort including all parties.
"The illegalities won't disappear immediately. To deal with it in a sustainable manner, we need a gradualist and multifaceted strategy, "he said.
He continued by saying that ethical small-scale mining will create workable job possibilities in local communities, hence reducing poverty.
GNASSM assistance
The GNASSM General Secretary referred to the government's small-scale mining industry changes as revolutionary.
According to Mr. Armah, the stringent procedures that licence applicants had to go through would guarantee that only skilled small-scale miners were authorised to work.
He urged all licence recipients to fully abide by the pertinent terms and conditions since failing to do so would result in the licence being revoked.
35 percent of the nation's gold production comes from small-scale mining, according to Mr. Armah, who noted that the industry needs to be shielded against unauthorised workers.