Small-scale miners want simpler licensing

Small-scale miners want government to simplify licensing procedures for mineral concessions to achieve a better compliance regime – with timelines for issuance of licences to facilitate the process.

The miners argued that the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) need to expedite the decentralisation of issuance of licences.

Currently, it takes 90 days – with a 21-day statutory requirement for publication – before the issuance of such a licence, while the licences are issued by the sector minister.

“A further simplification of the licensing procedures, with timelines for issuance of licences, would create a better compliance regime,” said Collins Osei Kusi, President of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, at a policy dialogue with stakeholders in Accra.

The stakeholders included Environmental Protection Agency, Minerals Commission, Office of the Stool Lands Administrator, and the Water Resources Commission.

The dialogue was organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines in partnership with the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC Fund). It was aimed at ensuring compliance and expanding revenue generation from the country’s mining industry through encouraging best practices by small-scale mining operators.

The policy dialogue discussed how to finalise the national policy on mining, which is currently at the cabinet level, and highlighted small-scale mining as a serious national issue.

Participants discussed a 13-point action plan that has been drafted to help address some of the challenges associated with small-scale mining in the country.

The work plan seeks to back speedy promulgation of the National Mining Policy, decentralisation of the licencing of small-scale miners, training of illegal miners in a bid to regularise their activities, and registering of small-scale miners among others.

Ambrose Yenneh, Executive Director of International Centre for Advocacy and Social Research, who chaired the function, said it was critical to discourage illegal mining.

Participants proposed that an online application for licences be worked out by the Minerals Commission to help reduce the time required for issuance of licences.

They stressed the importance of maintaining a comprehensive database of small-scale mining operational areas for proper monitoring and evaluation of the sector.

They also suggested the development of a community action plan to protect the interest of both small- and large-scale mines in the various mining communities.