The National Coalition on Mining (NCOM) has called on the government to declare its stance on the proposed closure of the Obuasi mine by AgloGold Ashanti (AGA) for care and maintenance purposes.
It said the government’s silence on the closure of the mine seemed to suggest that it was in agreement with the AGA’s intention to shut down the mine for what it called ‘care and maintenance’ for two years.
According to the coalition, their call on the government to declare its stance was due to a similar closure that took place at Prestea for the same ‘care and maintenance’ for a similar period of time in 2002, but the Prestea mine “has since not been returned to production.”
Speaking at this year’s annual national mining forum held at Obuasi, Mr Richard Ellemah of the NCOM, said the failure of the mine to come back to production at Prestea resulted in dire economic and environmental consequences for the people of the area.
The forum was on the theme: ‘Life after mining: Avoiding a repeat of ‘Prestea’ in Obuasi’.
Another Prestea in Obuasi
NCOM expressed the fear that the same fate might befall the people of Obuasi and called on the government to disclose its stance and concerns over the AGA’s proposals to close the Obuasi mine for two years.
It further urged the government to make full disclosure of the extent to which AGA met the terms of the takeover of the Obuasi mine.
Again, the coalition called on the government to bring pressure to bear on AGA to discharge its tax obligation as per the agreement.
Artisanal and small-scale mining
It also asked the government to yield to the legitimate demands by Artisanal and Small scale Miners (ASM) for a portion of the Obuasi mine concession to be given them as part of the efforts to regularise their activities and create more jobs.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemanu Koney, also called for more accountability and transparency in the utilisation of the mineral revenue, particularly the royalties paid to the district assemblies of the mining communities.
He said in order to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of the mineral revenue, the chamber “is calling on the government to institute a Mineral Revenue Management Act analogous to the Petroleum Management Act.”
According to Mr Koney, it would not only promote accountability and transparency but also enhance efficiency in the use of the mineral revenue and invest part of the mineral revenue for a rainy day.
Again, he said even though the country had been mining for more than a century now, the nation seemed to lack a vision for the sector.
“We have undertaken mining without a collectively defined set of objectives. Consequently, we have not put in place interventions that would stimulate national development on the back of mining,” he stated.
Mr Koney said it was important the country did not lose sight of the finiteness of its minerals and thus implored the government to firm up the policy guidelines for the mining sector, which it initiated, adding “although we cannot reverse the outcome of mining in host communities, decisive and forward-looking decisions could make our host communities comparable to what pertains in advanced mining nations.”
