The Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and the Minerals Commission have settled all concerns raised by various stakeholders to pave way for the full implementation of government’s ‘Gold for Oil’ initiative.
Mr. Samuel Jinapor, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, on the 23rd November, 2022 published certain directives aimed at acquiring adequate quantities of gold to support government’s ‘Gold for Oil’ drive.
The directives which are rooted in the government’s pre-emptory rights under section 7 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), stipulated that all gold from small scale miners including the community Mining scheme shall be sold to government through PMMC with funding from the Bank of Ghana. The large-scale mining companies are also required to sell part of their gold outputs to the Bank of Ghana in support of the programme.
Implementation Measures
A recent statement issued by PMMC disclosed that the company will continue to work with the Minerals Commission and engage with stakeholders to resolve any issues that may arise in the course of the implementation of the directives.
Elaborating on the directives for implementation, PMMC communicated that it shall establish offices in selected mining regions, the first of which has already been set up in Kumasi, in the Ashanti region.
The statement noted that all existing gold trading and export license holders (implanting partners) shall continue their usual business activities except that the gold purchased by them from the small-scale sector shall not be exported. “The gold purchased by the Implementing Partners shall be sold to PMMC,” it stated.
In the case of license holders who have prior existing contractual obligations to supply gold outside of Ghana, they are required to write to PMMC with evidence of the contractual obligations and such companies shall be assisted by PMMC to discharge in full those contractual obligations.
For the purpose of implementation, the PMMC stipulated that persons who wish to sell to them shall be required to deliver their gold in whole bars of 5kg at any of the PMMC Offices either at Patasi, Kumasi or Diamond House, Accra, where the bars will be assayed and payment effected on the spot. Any other trader with gold below 5kg shall be required to sell to any of the Implementing Partners.
According to PMMC, a major threat to the successful implementation of the programme is the activities of smugglers, hence, “security agencies have been engaged to intensify anti-smuggling operations,” they said.
The Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) therefore urged the public to offer their full cooperation towards the implementation of the aforementioned directives.
BoG Assures The Availability Of Enough Gold To Support PMMC’s Initiatives
Mr. Stephen Opata, the Director of Financial Market at the Bank of Ghana, has confidently affirmed the existence of enough gold to support the gold-for-oil barter programme.
Speaking at a public account hearing, Mr. Opata divulged that based on the production numbers realized last year, gold has picked up hence resulting in the availability of quantities to promote PMMC’s initiative.
“We believe that we can buy enough gold to sustain the programme. I must say that the numbers we are currently looking at is about 160,000 ounces per month and that will represent about 50 to 60 per cent of the consumption of the country.
“According to what PMMC indicates, I think we have volumes to support the programme.”
Mr. Stephen Opata
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