Mr Josef Iroko, Assistant Manager in charge of Legal Affairs at the Minerals Commission says the Minerals Commission is set to organize a training programme for Police Prosecutors and some Judges to improve their knowledge and understanding on the Amended Minerals and Mining Law, Act 900, enacted in August 2019.
In an interaction with media during a media workshop , Mr. Iroko said the amended law prescribes stiffer punishment to offenders who engaged in illegal mining and makes it deterrent for both Ghanaians and foreigners to engage in the act.
He also said that,
“the Commission realized that there was a huge gap in the enforcement of the mining law, therefore it was important to train personnel of the law enforcement agencies and adjudicating institutions to be abreast with the law” adding that this would ensure that the law is duly enforced.
Mr Iroko giving a scenario mentioned an instant case in the Volta Region where a judge sitting on a case involving illegal small mining had no clue about the amended Minerals and Mining law and was relying on the old law, Act 703, 2006.
He then said that,
“A provision in the amended law states that a foreigner who undertakes small scale mining operation, contrary to the provision of the Act commits an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 30,000 penalty units and not more than 300.000 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than 25 years or both.”
A Principal Mining Officer at the Minerals Commission, Mr Eric Bukari who made a presentation on the Small Scale Mining and Community Mining Sub sector, said there was the need for collective and holistic cooperation of all stakeholders including the regulatory bodies, the media, NGOs and traditional authorities to tackle the problem of illegal mining head on.
Mr Bukari said to this effect, all district personnel of the Commission had been trained as drone pilots to monitor the activities of illegal mining.
He further noted that the nation accrued 2.1 million ounces of gold from artisanal small-scale mining in 2018, representing 43% of the country’s total gold production.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr Antwi-Boasiako, in his remarks, said the future of the nation hinges on mining and urged journalists to follow up on government mining policies, provide feedback and ensure objective reportage of mining issues.
Mining and Minerals Law
In 2019, an Act was enacted by the Parliament and President of the Republic of Ghana to amend the Minerals and Mining Act,2006 (Act 703) to provide for regulations to be made to prescribe the manner for the payment of royalties; the confiscation of equipment used in illegal small scale mining and for related matters. This is referred to as the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2015 (Act 900).
The Act establishes and provides for amendments to Section 25 of Act 703; Section 99 of Act 703; Section 106 of Act 703; Section 107 of Act 703; Section 110 of Act 703 and Repeal and Savings.
