Mr George Mireku Duker, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, has disclosed that the Ministry, through the Minerals Commission, has begun processes to digitise the Mineral Right Acquisition to ensure timely issuance of mineral rights.

According to Mr George Mireku Duker, digitizing the Mineral Right Acquisition will enable information on the title or ownership of all minerals, including metallic minerals to be easily accessible to any interested party.

The deputy minister explained that mineral rights give the owner permission to use the surface of the land to access the minerals for exploration and production. Though penalties could be levied, and the mineral rights can even be withdrawn if the miner contravenes the surface damage agreement stipulating what types of activities are permissible.

Mr Duker added that the holders of mineral rights on a property can also lease, sell, and bequeath them as gifts. This way, they will pass them down from generation to generation, independent of changes in ownership of the attached property.

Outright Ban of Small-Scale Mining

While commenting on the suggestion for an outright ban of small-scale mining, the Deputy Minister argued that placing a moratorium on the sector would cause more harm than good. He noted that the small-scale mining sector alone contributed about 40 percent of the average gold output and employed over one million Ghanaians and other five million beneficiaries.

In view of the various policy interventions rolled out by the Government to regularise the sector, Mr Mireku Duker indicated Ghana has become a shining example on the continent with many African countries visiting the Ministry to understudy it. “Zambia and Sudan have come to emulate from us and currently, the South African High Commissioner is at the Ministry with the same purpose, to understudy Ghana’s small-scale mining sector,” Mr Mireku Duker added.

Responding to a question regarding the confiscation of some excavators, the Deputy Minister disputed the popular report in the media that the excavators were missing. He thus set the record straight noting that the excavators had been handed over to the Ghana Police Service.

Mr Mireku Duker, moreover, refuted allegations levelled against him as being neck-deep in the illegal mining menace, saying, “I have never been a miner and I will never be; I have only studied and have a good knowledge of the subject matter and that should be on the record”.

To ensure sustainable and responsible mining practices, Mr Mireku Duker noted that the government had mooted the Community Mining Scheme (CMS) initiative in 2017 to manage the small-scale mining sector. “So far, 16 legal CMS have been inaugurated by the sector Ministry nationwide, with 98 mining concessions established, covering 2,299.94 acres of land,” he stated.

The Deputy Minister stated that between 2021 and 2022, the CMS created 85,800 jobs across the country, comprising 62,000 direct and 23,800 indirect jobs.

Mr Mireku Duker made this known at an engagement workshop in Accra. The participants were taken to the Mineral Commission’s situational room where modern technological gadgets and software for tracking of all earth-moving equipment and explosive machines had been installed.