Government is expected to start the vetting of all small-scale miners in the country today November 26, 2018 as part of efforts to ensure responsible, environmentally-friendly and sustainable mining to sanitize the sector.
The vetting process, which would begin from Monday, November 26, 2018 to December 7, 2018, would be undertaken by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
On April 1, 2017, government directed every registered artisanal and small-scale miner, whose licence was operational, to submit all relevant documents to the (IMCIM) Secretariat by post or in person before Friday, September 7, 2018.
Mining licence, environmental permit, operating permit, certificate of registration, Tax Identification Number, two passport-size photos, birth certificate, passport or Voter’s ID and current contact details were to be submitted to the committee by each small-scale miner.
Small-scale miners, who are cleared by the committee, would be allowed to return to the mines when the government eventually lifts the ban on small-scale mining in December this year.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining was inaugurated to tackle illegal small-scale mining, protect the environment and ensure that mining in the country conforms to international standards.
In 2017, government was compelled to ban illegal mining due to the massive destruction of the country’s land and water resources.
Experts cautioned that Ghana might resort to the importation of clean water in the next two decades if illegal mining was not tackled.
The committee subsequently adopted technology-driven strategies to combat illegal mining.
A software called Galamtop had been adopted by the taskforce to help monitor the activities of illegal miners.
According to Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, Chairman of the Inter-ministerial Task-force Against Illegal Mining, “These are things that have been pledged at this conference in the fight against illegal mining. The Minerals Commission, EPA, Water Resources Commission, Forestry Commission, and our current DCEs, will be integrated through this software application we call Galamstop.”
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