Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste management company, says it has the expertise and in a position to apply all the techniques in land reclamation and re-mediation of degraded sites due to illegal mining activities.

The company said over the past 15 years, it had made huge investments in infrastructure, technology and equipment towards managing waste, and could therefore reclaim mined out sites, if given the opportunity.

Mine experts have estimated that it will cost the government about $250 million to reclaim mined sites in the Western Region alone.

Dr Kenneth Asamoah-Boateng, the Managing Director of Zoil Services Limited, a subsidiary of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, gave the assurance at the second day of the National Consultative Dialogue on Small-Scale Mining in Accra, on Thursday when he made a presentation on behalf of Zoomlion.

On the topic:"Waste Management under Small-Scale Mining", Dr Asamoah-Boateng said the company had the technology for treating waste water, excavation, levelling and filling mined areas and plant tree species to restore the ecology and biodiversity of any degraded area in the country.

He said it could undertake most of the reclamation process at the site using appropriate equipment and trained staff, as well as construct dams, fill trenches with compost and plant tree species to consume contaminants like cyanide and heavy metals.

Dr Asamoah-Boateng mentioned some ongoing reclamation works of landfill sites Zoomlion was undertaking including; Saba, Kpone and Oti landfill sites.

The company is in partnership with Dredge Masters and J. A. Plant Pool for executing its reclamation projects across the country.

Prof. Frank K. Nyame, a Lecturer at the Earth Science Department, University of Ghana, who chaired the discussion, said Ghana lost 60 per cent of her rainforest cover due to mining between 2017 and 2018 and there should be concerted efforts to manage mine waste appropriately since 99 per cent waste materials were generated during gold processing.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Jinapor, in his opening remarks, said the meeting will produce a communiqué after the deliberations and report on the recommendations, which would guide its implementation.

The Minister reiterated his Ministry's resolve to implement the recommendations diligently, dispassionately and with a great sense of integrity and urgency.