Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker
A deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, has disclosed that the government is planning to introduce ‘green mining’ in Ghana.
The Deputy Minister said the green mining approach is to help industry places especially small-scale miners to use machines that are mercury-free.
He explained that green mining technology will promote the judicious utilization of resources and reduction in the effects of mining activities on communities.
He argued that the adoption of green technology in mine work environments could help us in achieving greater effort towards achieving more sustainable and environmentally friendly mining practices.
He was addressing the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM) in Kumasi recently.
He told the Association that the technology for green mining has been approved by the Minerals Commission because it is efficient and effective.
He said the government, has imported 100 commodity monitors for the green mining activities.
He also announced that the Ministry would soon set up a task force to monitor the operations of miners across the country.
He dismissed claims that there was a ban on licensed small-scale mining activities saying, foreigners are investing in the mining sector how much more Ghanaians, who are citizens.
According to him, the Ministry would launch an annual award scheme for the best small-scale mining concessions to demonstrate best practices and encourage other miners to emulate.
The Vice President of the Association, Sampson Kofi Wiredu, said they were prepared to be part of the campaign and engage in responsible mining.
He said they were optimistic responsible mining will cost the country less in monitoring, and make miners gain more profits.