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The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has assured operators of large-scale mining concessions that the government remains committed to protecting their businesses from encroachment by illegal miners.
Mr Jinapor said considering the crucial contribution of large-scale mining to the economy, the government would collaborate with the Ghana Chamber of Miners (GCM) to beef up security at their concessions.
“I can assure you that the government is fully committed to providing adequate security for your concessions because it is when your concessions are safe that you can work in peace to support the government,” he said.
The minister said it was through the collaborative effort of the government and the GCM that culminated in Ghana leapfrogging South Africa as the continent’s largest producer of gold.
He gave an assurance at a meeting with members of the GCM in Accra last Wednesday.
Mr Jinapor commended the Chamber for making available $300,000 for repair works on three aircraft of the Ghana Air Forces meant for surveillance against galamsey activities.
He said the ministry would raise the needed funds for the complete restoration of those aircraft to help crack down on galamseyers.
Touching on fiscal issues, Mr Jinapor said the government economic management team was aware of concerns of mining companies over the value added tax (VAT) on exploration and would take a decision that would serve the interest of all parties.
“We have held several engagements with the Ministry of Finance on this matter, but as you will all agree, 2023 was a very difficult year for our economy, and with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities coming in, some of these decisions are not taken lightly.
“I want to assure you that we will continue our engagement, and hopefully, we can find a middle ground to this issue,” he said.
Another issue of concern was a growth and sustainability levy.
Mr Jinapor further re-iterated the need for the GCM to live up to the government’s agenda for value addition in the mining sector to enable the country to reap the full benefits of the sector.
He also entreated the Chamber to develop communities in their catchment areas to promote development.
The President of GCM, Joshua Mortoti, said the chamber would continue to support the government’s efforts to make the country the mining hub of Africa.
“In 2024, the output of GCM’s producing member companies is projected to increase to 3.5 million ounces mainly due to fresh production from Cardinal Namdini Gold Mine,” he said.
Mr Mortoti said the additional output from the mine, which was earmarked for the fourth quarter of 2024, would partially compensate for the anticipated decline in output of Newmont’s Akyem Mine and Gold Fields’ Damang Mine.
“The latter mines are approaching their end of life. With a projected output range of 1.1 million ounces to 1.3 million ounces in 2024 from the small-scale sector, the national gold output is expected to exceed 4.5 million ounces in 2024.
“And on manganese production, the planned output for 2024 is five million tonnes,” he said.
In September, 2023, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources said it had deployed a special task force of police officers to protect large-scale mining companies from invasion by illegal miners.
It said it also contacted the ministries of National Security and Defence to deploy the military "on special occasions" to tackle illegal mining activities at legal mining concessions when the need arises.
The special task force was required to patrol large-scale mining concessions to prevent illegal miners from trespassing and also crack down on persons who were threatening the operations of large-scale producing companies.
