Minister says days of illegal mining are over

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New Abirem (E/R), Feb. 27, GNA - Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, the Eastern Regional Minister, has said his outfit and the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) would stop illegal mining in the Region.

He said the illegal mining popularly called 'galamsey' had devastated most of the lands in the region and left un-reclaimed by the illegal miners.

'Galamsey operators are just hiding at the edges and destroying our environment and polluting water bodies without even paying taxes to the nation and using child labour, among others,' he said.

Mr Antwi-Boasiako said this when he paid a working visit to the Akyem Mine of Newmont Golden Ridge Limited as part of his official tour to the Birim North District.

The Regional Minister advised galamsey operators to venture into proper mining, but 'if they still want to do galamsey, their days are numbered and we will stop them.'

He praised Newmont for practicing holistic mining which ensures mine safety, offering employment to Ghanaians who form 96 percent of the company's workforce and for channeling one percent of its profit into a development fund for the progress of communities in the district.

Mr Kevin Moxham, the General Manager of Newmont, expressed appreciation to the Regional Minister for the visit and promised that the company would continue to work closely with the local people.

He said in spite of the challenges associated with gold price fall, Newmont would work to mitigate the challenges by working very efficiently to ensure high inflow.

GNA