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Dr Toni Aubyn (3rd left), C E O, Minerals Commission, briefing the press on the relocation exercise of the informal miners
Dr Toni Aubyn (3rd left), C E O, Minerals Commission, briefing the press on the relocation exercise of the informal miners

Illegal miners on AngloGold concessions relocated

A total of 4,200 illegal miners on AngloGold Ashanti Ghana (AGAG) concessions in Obuasi have been relocated to ceded areas, while efforts have been stepped up to seal the evacuated areas to permanently secure them from future invasions.

The evacuation exercise, which was carried out by the Minerals Commission, in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Security Council (ARSC), forms part of a road map to free the AGAG from invasion by informal miners in order to have a robust mining regime.

At a press briefing held by the Minerals Commission in Accra yesterday, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Tony Aubynn, disclosed that the illegal miners had been relocated to designated areas prepared by the  AGAG to host them.

“We are happy to inform you that as of Friday, November 25, 2016, all informal miners had been successfully moved from the previously occupied areas of AGAG’s concession.

“At the end of the relocation exercise, about 3,350 of the informal miners had been sent to the northern part of the ceded area, comprising Abedwum, Aduman and Jacobu, while another 750 were moved to the southern part, comprising Kotopreso, Tema Ridge, Amponyase and Akasu. The final 100 miners are going through the final processes of plot allocation within the ceded area,” he added.

Threats of illegal miners at AGAG

The illegal invasion of AGAG’s concessions by informal miners has often caused deaths from clashes between the security personnel of the mines and the intruders, with one of such clashes resulting in the death of AGAG’s Communications Manager, Mr John Owusu, in February this year.

Subsequently, the AGAG sued the government at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID), citing security concerns at the Obuasi concession for its action.

A 15-member committee was set up to implement a road map for the successful relocation of the illegal and small-scale miners from the AGAG concessions and assist the Minerals Commission to allocate concessions to those with small-scale mining interests.

The committee, in collaboration with other stakeholders, mapped up ceded areas for the relocation of the illegal miners. In furtherance to that, the commission issued a directive in October this year for all illegal miners on AGAG’s concessions to move to the ceded areas.

Dr Aubynn explained that following collaborative efforts by the ARSC, the AGAG and the commission, the evacuation process had been peaceful, adding that steps had been put in place to seal all the evacuated areas.

Interventions

Responding to questions on the interventions being taken to safeguard the AGAG concession and the mining industry, Dr Aubynn stated that the commission was focused on addressing the weaknesses of using human interventions with the introduction of digitised monitoring mechanisms.

“We are exploring an innovation that is a novelty and which will make it possible for us to track activities on mining grounds, especially the monitoring of unregistered excavators. If an excavator is approaching a mining ground that has not been designated for small-scale mining, we will be able to track it from a control room,” he added.

He further stated that the commission was undertaking a re-categorisation exercise that would group miners into artisanal, small-scale and medium-scale miners to ensure an effective monitoring regime.

As part of that initiative, he said, partnerships would be allowed, especially for medium-scale miners, to enhance partnerships between foreign and local miners.

Reforms

He explained that reforms were also underway to beef up the minerals and mining laws to make sanctions for illegal mining stiffer, adding that “in the new reforms, illegal miners are likely to face three-year imprisonment or a fine of GH¢60,000, but the penalty is even stiffer for foreigners”.

Dr Aubynn observed that the law on confiscating of the equipment of illegal miners was not biting enough and that the weaknesses in that law had always given illegal miners an escape route each time they were arraigned for confiscation of the equipment.

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