The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of India Gold Metaverse (IGM), Lamon Rutten who made the call said small-scale miners in the country can actually realise better prices for their gold, if they are part of a well-organised value chain. So there is also a value proposi­tion in it for them if they adopt technology,” he said.

The Managing Director disclosed this in an interview with The Ghanaian Times in Accra on Monday on the sidelines of the Mining in Motion conference and said there was intense world movement towards responsible gold.

The three-day programme being organ­ised by the Manhyia Palace, Ashanti Green Initiative, and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, is on the theme “Sustain­able Mining and Local Growth – Leveraging Resources for Global Impact.”

India Gold Metaverse is a mining technol­ogy company that operated in the retail trade sector, specialising in gold and jewellery.

Mr Rutten said Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASM) would be able to generate a lot of revenue from their operations if they adopt and deploy modern technologies in their operations.

“The small-scale miners in the country can actually realise better prices for their gold, if they are part of a well-organised value chain. So there is also a value proposition in it for them if they adopt technology,” he said.

The CEO of IMG said the initial cost of adoption of technology was expensive but investment in technology could easily pay off through the attraction of better prices, saying with “Technology, you create more value than without technology.”

“Technology costs you cash, but brings you profits at the end. And you generate value, environmental value, for the people around you,” Mr Rutten, stated.

“If you take into account the costs of technology, the net value that you add will be bigger if you use technology. You will extract more ore from the soil, you will have cheaper finance, you will get better prices,” he stated.

The CEO said technology could help combat illegal mining as there were technol­ogies which could help provide information in an area where mining was done and the method of extraction of the mineral.

He said IGM had technological solutions which could trace the source of gold, the method of extraction, which enhances the traceability of gold.

Mr Rutten said his outfit was currently focusing on the supply sector of mineral production across the world to help the pro­ducers derive more and better value.

Asked why IGM’s focus on Ghana, he said it was “Looking to strategically leverage global gold supply chains while prioritising and optimising ethical as well as sustainable sourcing to meet domestic needs.”

That, he said, aligned with sourcing with best international standards and adhering to industry best practices, enhancing com­petitiveness in India and at the same time increase off takers of responsibly mined artisanal gold, migrating and assimilating artisanal gold operators into the formal sector, introducing efficiencies in the global gold industry.

Further quizzed of the opportunities IMG offered for Ghana, Mr Rutten said Ghana was Africa’s top gold producer and the gold industry being a crucial component of the Ghanaian economy by contributing signifi­cantly to Gross Domestic Product and ex­port revenue, it is a strategic opportunity for the country to secure the large and growing Indian market.

Mr Rutten later spoke in one of the panel discussions of the Mining in Motion confer­ence.