Ghana has entered into a strategic partnership with the World Gold Council (WGC), leading to the unlocking of a $1-million grant to advance responsible artisanal small-scale mining.
The partnership is meant to facilitate the formalisation of small-scale mining, reduce illicit gold trade, and improve supply chain integrity.
Through the partnership, the two sides will establish a framework for responsible gold production by supporting policy development, capacity-building, traceability systems, technology solutions and training for mining communities.
The memorandum of understanding for the partnership was signed in Accra yesterday, with the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, signing for Ghana, while the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the WGC, David Tait, initialled for the WGC.
Following the signing of the partnership, the WGC formally extended an initial grant of $250,000 to the country to help in installing the ecosystem for gold verification, processing and traceability to help sanitise the small-scale mining sector.
The grant is part of a $1-million comprehensive financial package to support the government's cooperative gold mining programme.
Milestone
Mr Buah described the gesture by the WGC as a major step towards building a robust small-scale mining sector.
He said the partnership provided a viable platform for collaboration and leveraging government leadership, international standards and industry expertise towards building a trusted, transparent and responsible artisanal small-scale mining value chain that worked best for all stakeholders, including communities.
"We wholly appreciate this support from the WGC, and will not take it for granted," he stated.
The minister said the partnership would focus more on unlocking the socio-economic benefits of responsible artisanal mining and protecting the environment while strengthening confidence in the country's gold market.
WGC commitment
For his part, Mr Tait said the WGC was committed to supporting Ghana to implement strategic reforms to improve the small-scale mining sector.
He said Ghana’s position as a major gold producer made the partnership crucial by helping to build a responsible artisanal mining value chain.
Mr Tait added that as one of the global leaders in gold production, it was important for Ghana to continue to demonstrate strong resolve to tackle the challenges and opportunities of artisanal mining.
"We are pleased to be working with the government to implement the formalisation policy in the artisanal small-scale mining sector," he assured.
Bipartisan approach
Touching on the fight against galamsey, Mr Tait called for a non-partisan approach to deal with the canker, stressing that if partisanship was allowed to dominate the discourse or approach to fighting the menace, there would be no headway.
"Illegal mining affects the entire country, so sanitising the sector should be done without political colouration," he said.
Mr Tait added that by working together as a unit, the country stood a better chance of fighting and winning the galamsey war and restoring the degraded landscape.
