Fixing The Country: Open Letter To President Of Ghana On Mining Sector Reforms - Part 7

Dear President,

I hope this mail finds you in good health, sir.

Mr President, it is very sad that after 36 years (since 1986) of the Structural Adjustment Programme/Economic Recovery Programme of which the PNDC and the World Bank opened the window of opportunity for private participation in the Gold Mining Sector of the National Economy, there is no Ghanaian Giant Mining Company with minerals right or lease in the Precious or metal minerals like gold mining concession to rivalry with the Large Scale Mining Companies like Goldfields, AngloGold Ashanti, Golden Star Resources, Newmont, Perseus Mining Company, Asanko Gold, Future Global Resources at Bogoso who are the major gold producing companies who are members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.

So, the need for the State to come out with measures to help develop Ghanaian Giant Mining Companies to be in the same category of Large Scale Mining Companies like Golden Star Resources, Perseus Mining Company etc and enlisted as a member of the Ghana Chamber of Mines as major gold producing Companies and for other reforms that I write to you and for the public discourse on some Mining Sector Reforms in order to help the President of Ghana, for this reason you, who Article 257 (6) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, vested all minerals in Ghana on behalf of, and in trust for the people of Ghana to act appropriately in the interest of the Nation with regards to the Mining Sector.

For historical records, let me firstly acknowledge an indigenous salt mining company namely ElectroChem, a subsidiary of MacDan Group of Companies, owned by my good friend, Dr Daniel McCauley as may be the first Ghanaian Giant Mining Company which owns restricted mining rights or lease in industrial minerals and not Precious Minerals like gold. So it has also designated as minerals concession owner from the Minerals Commission. ElectroChem owns concession in the industrial minerals sector in the salt mining industry. It owns the Ada Songhor Salt project to be developed into a multinational Salt Mining Industry in Africa to aid the Petrochemical Sector, local consumption and maybe export to earn foreign exchange.

This act by Dr Daniel McCauley is highly commendable. Like ElectroChem which owns a restricted mining right or lease for mining industrial minerals especially salt, we also have an indigenous Cement plant, the Dzata Cement plant owned by Mr Ibrahim Mahama, rivaling with Ghacem, which is a Public Private Partnership between the Government of Ghana and Norcem AS of Norway in the mining industry, mining industrial minerals like limestone, clay, and marl for the production of cement which are used for coming out with clinker cement.

Furthermore, Engineers and Planners owned by the same Mr Ibrahim Mahama, though is regarded as the largest indigenous-owned mining company in West Africa, it is just a mining service provider (contract mining company), so it does not own minerals rights or lease or mining concessions from the Minerals Commission like Large Scale Mining Companies like Goldfields or AngloGold Ashanti. It must be put on record that Engineers and Planners made a first attempt to own a major mineral right or lease namely Bauxite Concession, unfortunately this was shot down due to technical reasons or not meeting a Constitutional requirements.

Mr President based on the dogma of the 1992 Constitution of Probity, Transparency and Accountability, so, for the people of Ghana to be seen to be the real owners of the Minerals as stipulated in Article 257 (6) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of Ghana, for that matter you on the seat (hence the buck stops with you as the President) must ensure that the mining of or precious minerals or metals like gold to facilitate for the active and full participation of indigenous owned companies (of Ghanaians) rivaling with Newmont and others through ownership of Major Mining Lease or Rights in the Precious Minerals mining industry. Since Mining is a huge capital intensive venture, so you should make a provision for Ghanaians to progress in the Precious Minerals Mining Industry by initially collaborating with foreigners within a third nomenclature or category herein recommended as Medium Scale Mining Sector which prerequisites should be below that of Large Scale Mining but above that of Small Scale Mining.

Furthermore Mr President, by the combined effects or requirements of some sections of Article 257 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of Ghana, for that matter you must also ensure that mining of minerals in general in areas within the territorial sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ghana, areas properly exploited in a responsible manner with very due regards to the protection of the environment and rivers/water bodies, the safety and good health of the operators and their affected Communities. Evidence below will indicate the poor work by Presidents in the Fourth Republic from the era of President Kofour to your era especially the massive destruction of the environment etc.

Moreover, the President of Ghana who holds the minerals in trust for the people of Ghana as stipulated in Article 257 (6) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana must ensure that the minerals obtained are well accounted for and sold promptly through the legal way. For instance in the case of Small Scale Miners, they are required to sell their gold to the Precious Minerals Marketing Company or its authorized Buyers. Evidence below will indicate the poor work by Presidents in the Fourth Republic from the era of President Kofour to your era resulting in the hoarding and smuggling of gold etc.

The President is also to ensure that the share of the State’s revenue obtained in the form of tax, royalties etc is fairly used to develop the country especially meet the aspirations of the people in the areas endowed with minerals or mining communities or catchment areas. So, it is gratifying to note that the Minerals Development Fund which was initially an administrative fiat (decree or order) instituted in 1992 by the PNDC was passed by Parliament in 2016 into the Minerals Development Fund Act (Act912), thus providing legal backing for the Fund as well as the guidelines for the spending of mineral royalties that accrue to the State and the establishes among others, a Mining Community Development Scheme, a structure at the local level to facilitate the socio-economic development of communities in which mining activities are undertaken and those affected by mining operations.

Mr President, I am of the view that the name of the Act912 of 2016, is misleading or not appropriate and should therefore be changed to Mining Communities Development Fund since it governs 20% of the minerals royalties realized from the mineral sector for the development of the affected communities and not Minerals Development Fund which suggests the development of minerals. It is recommended that, if possible projects especially physical infrastructures built with revenue from the Minerals or the Mining Sector should be branded or labelled as such to help ascertain in future the contribution of Mining in the national economy. For instance, the establishment of facilities by the mining sector at the University of Mines at Tarkwa, by the Ghana Chamber of Mines etc the extension in Obuasi of a campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University with the help of AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi, the AGA Health Foundation by AngloGold Ashanti are all very commendable projects, the fight against Malaria by AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi and establishment of schools and clinics go a long way to demo the great contributions of Mining in Ghana.

Lastly, the President of Ghana must come out with a policy (training, technical and managerial package) to support or encourage miners especially Small Scale Miners to invest the wealth (funds) obtained by mining to help create diverse business activities or additional employment or Alternative Livelihood Projects, in order to ensure the sustenance of income, development of affected areas, and generate new employments to replace mining or when the minerals are exhausted or depleted as termed as sustainability in mining. For instance USAID is helping Small Scale Miners in Ivory Coast to invest in the cultivation of Avocado as Alternative Livelihood Projects as part of the concept of Sustainability in mining. It is important to bring to your notice of an idea with the help of video which I sold to Hon Mary Ankomah (ex-MP of Daboasi on the ticket of PPP), then with an NGO, that helped facilitate her appointment as the Community Affairs Manager of Bogoso Mine. The idea was helping the people of the catchment areas of the Bogoso Mine to establish Oil Palm Plantations in addition to the rearing of poultry, rabbit, snails, mushroom, maize with short gestation period that were initially done by the Company.

Mr President, it is very unfortunate that almost all Presidents of Ghana in the Fourth Republic thus including yourself woefully failed this great country with rich minerals deposits by not ensuring that this Country benefits a lot from the large deposit of precious minerals particularly from Gold, Bauxite, Manganese and industrial minerals like salt, limestone etc. I need to put on record that the nearer efforts by Presidents in the Fourth Republic to do so were/are (a) His Excellency Ex-President Kofour when he sent some small scale miners between 2006/2007 and 2008 to China to study on mining but this caused very big problem for the nation as stated below.

It is also important to put on record that His Excellency Ex-President JD Mahama did a good job for the conversion of the Minerals Development Fund decree of the PNDC into Act of Parliament by his Administration in order to give a legal backing to ensure dedicated funding and judicious use of the revenue for the development of the affected areas and likewise his attempt to float Gold Royalties (which your Administration termed as Agyapa Royalties) in the Stock market for Ghanaians to buy shares thus make the citizenry to really own the minerals or be part of wealth sharing or some way of fair distribution of wealth lastly, the very good efforts of your Presidency through VP Dr Alhaji Bawumia through an exchange for Ghana’s refined bauxite, he secured US$2 billion from China for the Sinohydro projects by Sinohydro Limited of China for several priority infrastructural projects roads through the 16 regions notably the Tamale Interchange the first of its kind in in the North.

Another unfortunate matter, is the failure of Presidents of Ghana since Ex-President Kofour to ensure that mining operations especially by Small Scale Miners were/are done in a very responsible manner as prescribed per law and regulations to ensure no serious disturbances to the environment, rivers and water bodies. The failure is evidenced by the massive destructions of the environment, the diversion and pollution of rivers and water bodies in Ghana which led to the turbidity of water in rivers and water bodies through siltation and has made Ghana Water Company in a very difficult situation to supply water to the people of Ghana and if the Company succeeds to do so, it is at a very high cost to the Company and the citizenry.

The massive destruction of the environment, the diversion of rivers and the pollutions/siltation of rivers and water bodies situation has led to a warning by a school of thought that a Third World War (WW3) may be fought over the scarcity of water, if we do not preserve the environment. This speaks volume of the negligence on the part of you and your predecessors since the buck stops with the President to preserve the environment. For historical record, I need to recognize that Ex-President Mahama attempted from 2013/14 to halt the destructions of the Environment, which you also continued in 2017 and this happened after the Media Coalition championed by Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey, then Managing Director of the Graphic Communication Group Limited, lunched in 4 April 2017, a media battle against activities of Small Scale Miners and thus put an important national security issue back on the front burner.

So, in response to the public outcry on the alarming state of affairs, your Presidency launched OPERATIONS VANGUARD in July 2017, a combined team of Military and Police personnel to combat the menace of small scale mining especially the environmental degradation, diversion and pollution of rivers and water bodies. Hmm, the situation persists about 5 years since the launch of OPERATIONS VANGUARD, speaks volume of the rot (corruption etc) in the system which you need to address.

Another failure of all Presidents of the 4^th Republic is the inability to ensure that mining by small scale miners is done in a very transparent and accountable manner through prompt sale of the minerals especially Gold to Precious Minerals Marketing Company or her authorized Buyers. Due to this failure some Small Scale Miners keep the gold with them for more than 240hours or simply unlawful hoarding of the gold without permit from PPMC. In Congo, some people were prosecuted and sentenced for possession or keeping gold and diamond which they picked from their farm lands without reporting or accounting to the State or the President, the person who all minerals are vested in by the constitution. Unfortunately, this is not the situation in Ghana, so since 1992 the Presidents of Ghana have not lived up to their full responsibilities as required in Article 257 (6) of the 1992 Constitution. That is to say the Presidents of Ghana failed to adhere to the letter and spirit of Article 257 (6) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Hence, people are keeping or hoarding gold with them, making gold smuggling as the order of the day since 1992.

Another failure of all Presidents of the 4^th Republic is not able to effectively prevent foreigners from operating in the Small Scale Mining Sector which is restricted to only Ghanaians by law as well as inability to reduce the high scale of smuggling of gold in the Small Scale Mining Sector to the barest minimum. For instance, about 5 Billion of US Dollars of Gold were reportedly smuggled out of Ghana to United Arab Emirate in 2015 or so and it is also alleged that between 2 to 5 billion US Dollars of Gold are smuggled out yearly without concrete action by the State to reduce the level of smuggling. It is also unfortunate that the State cannot check and regulate the repatriation of the revenue from gold sales by foreigners including Chinese operating illegally in the Small Scale Mining Sector or tell the exact situation, hence we only rely on the mercy of reports from foreign media, which may not be accurate. Another failure of all Presidents of the 4^th Republic is not able to negotiate for better or higher percentage of royalties payable to the State than the current low situation of between 3 to 5%.

It is also sad that you and your predecessors failed to acknowledge the persistent interest of Ghanaians especially the tycoons for them to collaborate with foreigners especially Chinese in the gold mining sector, so that the State introduces or come out with an appropriate category like medium Scale Mining for Ghanaians to form partnership with foreigners in the mid sector of the Mining industry which prerequisites should be below that of Large Scale Mining but above that for Small Scale Mining (Cooperative or Community Mining) and if possible to progress and be in rivalry or st par with Newmont Ghana and Others.

Furthermore, it is sad that the President of Ghana as at date is not able to promote efficient and effective sustainability in mining to ensure the evolution or navigation from mining to lucrative and viable Alternative Livelihood Projects/other profitable economic ventures as part of ensuring linkages of mining to other economic activities. That is the effective promotion of the rippling effect of mining into other economic ventures (that is the State ensuring or promoting effective linkages of mining to other economic activities).

Mr President, as you are fully aware, as part of the Economy Recovery Programme in the 1980s, the PNDC in collaboration with the World Bank came out with Mining Sector Reforms as part of the Structural Adjustment Programme and thus promulgated the Minerals and Mining Law 1986 (PNDCL153), followed by the establishment of the Minerals Commission in 1986 and attracted Direct Foreign Investment in the Mining Sector. This saw the Canadian Bogoso Resources (CBR) as the first Company to introduce Surface Mining in Ghana in 1986 or so, this gave the birth of WACAM at Dumasi near Bogoso in 1989 by my good friend Dr Daniel Koranteng (who gave me the nick name, master of common grounds due to my philosophy of win-win solutions in the Mining Sector when I made a submission to the National Peace Council in 2007 during a National Peace Forum at the Busia Beach Resort).

Mr President, a very important historical perspective in the Mining Sector by 1986, were the endemic activities of Galamsey operators or artisanal miners or the time tested traditional mining activities which has been in existence since 1471. So as part of win-win solution, in 1986, the then Chairman Rawlings of the PNDC with the maxim ‘if you cannot beat them find a way or a policy to acknowledge Galamsey operators, so that you can rein or control or contain them, so as to ensure that they do not disturb or discourage foreign investors in the Large Scale Mining Sector as well as preventing them from cause massive destruction of the environment, rivers/water bodies’’, in collaboration with the World Bank introduced Small Scale Mining Law in Ghana.

The PNDC, did so by an initial incorporation of section 77 into the Minerals and Mining Law 1986 (PNDCL153) as part of a process of Legalization of Artisanal Mining (to bring the Galamsey operators into the formal sector as the objective or target to be attained in due course) through a Formalization process, which is the trip or destination to the of Legalization of or lawful of Small Scale Mining. Hence, Galamsey Operations or Artisanal Mining as Small Scale Mining was legalized (brought to the formal sector) by the PNDC, so they came out with the law/policy that the then PNDC Sector Secretary will only designate an area for Small Scale Mining, if and only if it is in the interest of the public (herein community) to encourage small scale mining only at the area so designated and that a maximum allocation of 25 acres for a cooperative of 10 or more members or a minimum of 3 acres for an individual, no usage of sophisticated equipment, no usage of substantial amount, no usage of explosives and the Applicants or operators must be Ghanaians and not below 18 year and lastly, the mining must be done under the Control and supervision of District Mining Committees.

Mr President, as part of the legalization and formalization of Small Scale Mining, made the PNDC in 1989, to further come out with the Small Scale Gold Mining Law 1989 (PNDCL218) with the same policy that the sector PNDC Secretary will only designate an area for Small Scale Mining, if and only if it is in the interest of the public (herein community) to encourage small scale mining only at the area so designated, that a maximum allocation of 25 acres for a cooperative of 10 or more members n or a minimum of 3 acres for an individual, no usage of sophisticated equipment, no usage of substantial amount, no usage of explosives and the Applicants or operators must be Ghanaians and not below 18 year and the mining will be done under the Control and supervision of District Mining Committees.

Mr President, in order to ensure legal sale and purchase of Gold as well as curb smuggling, the PNDC in 1989 also introduced a new dimension in the Legalization and Formalization of Small Scale Mining by the establishment of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) through the passage of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company Law 1989 (PNDCL219) to ensure gold and diamond were sold by Small Scale Miners to the PMMC. PMMC was authorized to grade, assay, and value, buy and sell minerals and license gold buying agents in Ghana.

Enter the Administration of President Kofour, especially between the period 2006 and 2008 which saw the amalgamation of the previous separate Mining Laws into the Minerals and Mining Law 2006 (Act703) with Small Scale Mining Law covering from sections 81 to 99. The period also saw an attempt to get Ghanaians to be in the commanding heights in responsible and commercial Mining. So over 800 Ghanaians allegedly Small Scale Miners accompanied by National Security Operatives, were sent by the Administration of President Kofour between 2007 and 2008 to China to study mining operations.

Intelligence gathered by the National Security Operatives who accompanied them revealed that some of the affected Ghanaians were able to brief some wealthy Chinese who were interested in Mining about rich deposits of gold in Ghana and managed to establish business deals with some wealthy Chinese businessmen and invited them to come to Ghana to help them to conduct mining operations. The elated Chinese businessmen responded to the invitation by their Ghanaian collaborators and invaded the Small Scale Mining Sector with hundreds of excavators and substantial amount. Hence the massive destruction of the environment, rivers/water bodies between 2008 and 2015 was self-inflicted by the State. State Officials failed to think outside the box when they got the intelligence relayed by the National Security Operatives to come out with remedies.

Mr President, as you are aware, Mining especially Large Scale Mining is capital intensive, hence it is done by Foreign Mining Companies (Multinational Companies) and Small Scale Mining was/is recognized worldwide as a poverty driven activity by rural communities, so it is done with no substantial amount and rudimentary equipment or tools by rural communities where minerals deposits are found, hence the current designation as Community Mining (initially Cooperative Mining) is commendable.

Mr President, it is sad that since 1986, Ghana has only two nomenclatures or category of mining namely the Large Scale Mining by Foreign Mining Companies like AngloGold Ashanti, Golden Star, Goldfields Newmont etc operating with highly sophisticated equipment and substantial amount not less than 100millions of USA Dollars, then Small Scale Mining or Artisanal Mining restricted to only Ghanaians not below 18 years old, which is now termed as Community Mining. So it was unfortunate that the Nation failed as at date to use the intelligence relayed by the National Security Operatives who were in China with the Small Scale Miners to think outside the box and come out with a third category as Medium Scale Mining to formalize the reported Collaboration between Ghanaians and the foreigners in the Mining Sector. So that the prerequisites for Medium Scale Mining are below that for Large Scale Mining Sector but above the prerequisites for Small Scale Mining Sector in order to rein or contain the risks associated with the collaboration between the Chinese and Ghanaians in the mining sector and help the Ghanaian in due course develop it into a Large Scale Mining closer to or at par with Golden Star Resources Wassa Mine. .

It is important to put on record that Dr Tony Aubyn a former CEO of the Minerals Commission agreed with me that the PNDCL218 of 1989 was initially or actually for the formalization of Artisanal mining which and other laws on mining were amalgamated into the current Small Scale Mining law. He agreed that the current Small Scale Mining law is very ambiguous and therefore also calls its proper definition or the redefinition of Small Scale Mining so as to restrict the Small Scale Mining to the state as required in PNDCL218 of 1989 and he also agreed for the need to come out with a third nomenclature (category) for Ghanaian tycoons to operate solely or in collaboration with foreigners in a well regulated way, since Mining is capital intensive. Google for ‘’Small Scale Mining must be redefined to help sanitize the sector – Tony Aubyn’.

Mr President what happened in the past, suggests element of corruption in the mining sectors or it denotes incompetency or both within the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources and the associated Commissions especially Minerals Commissions. This is so because it is difficult to understand why the Presidents of Ghana since the era of President Kofour failed to act appropriately on the intelligence on collaboration between Ghanaians tycoons and Foreigners which was relayed to Ghana by the National Security operatives (led by my good friend and brother the Late Mr Justice Tsar, who rose up in the then BNI to become the Executive Director of the Serious Fraud Office) who accompanied the alleged Small Scale Miners to China between 2007 and 2008. This negligence has caused the nation greatly in terms of the massive destruction of the environment, diversion of rivers, and pollution of rivers, water bodies etc and the huge cost on the futile attempts to combat the risks.

The same intelligence that was relayed by the National Security Operators was also in the foreign media in 2008 by a Chinese writer and the intelligence on the ground or the monumental movement of excavators to mining areas in hundreds for operations akin to the invasion of locust on a maize farm as observed on the ground but it was later that stories were brought to the front burner in 2012/2013 by the local media including report of a Chinese Mining Company and his Ghanaian accomplice who ended up encroaching the concession of another Ghanaian at Manso Abudom in 11 February 2013 as reported in Daily Graphic. A story in the Daly Graphic on 11 March 2013 which depicted damages of the environment by foreigners with the accompanied details. Another serious case which involved foreigners happened at a suburb of Obuasi as reported in the local media including Modern Ghana and Joy news on 09 May 2013.

Furthermore, a report of research works in 2015 on the activities of Chinese in the Small Scale Mining Sector including the activities of Shaanxi Mining Company in the Talensi District between 2008 and 2021, more detail on this smelling situation later. It must be made clear that I do not blame the affected Ghanaians, they had or have to do so because mining is capital intensive and so the State only need to come out with good legislation as suggested herein to ensure the Ghanaians collaborate with foreigners and operate in a commercial way and not in the Small Scale Mining mode which is really regarded as a risk or disaster by the World Bank, UNDP USAID,, UN and most Countries because it was or is done by rural communities without regards to the environment as poverty alleviation programme or as God given rights for them to operate to escape from their woes of poverty and not necessary for wealth creation (the Section 77 of the PNDCL153 of the 1986 and the PNDC218 of 1989 brought about by the PNDC and the World Bank) gave or give a clear picture of that).

Mr President, I have been advocating on the matter of mining sector reforms since 2013 or so, and I was elated when my concerns were confirmed by Dr Tony Aubyn, a former CEO of the Minerals Commission in 2016 or so. He made this concern again on Asaase FM Radio on 18 April 2021. Mr President, the recent revelation of alleged wrong dealings in the Forestry Commission speaks volume of the safety and security risks in the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources. Mr President, it is envisaged too much rot in the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources especially the associated Commissions namely Minerals Commissions, Land Commission and Forestry Commission and maybe the Water Resources Commission. You may also suspect rots in the Fishery Commissions under Ministry Agriculture. You need to probe their activities since 1992.

Mr President, honestly speaking, the causal effects of the failure of the State to come out with a new law for Medium Scale Mining Sector for the Ghanaians who were sent to China between 2006/2007 and 2008 and made collaborations with foreigners were the massive destruction of the environment, rivers/water bodies and the reported high level of smuggling of gold presumably by foreigners who came to Ghana and invaded the small scale mining sector with hundreds of excavators and substantial amount of money and had to use secret or illegal avenues to repatriate the return from their investments to their home Country.

Mr President, it was very shocking that within the period from 2008 to 2015, it was found that some individual Ghanaians, had over 100 Excavators in their possession or custody at their sites for small scale mining. Thus the mining inventories of some individual small scale miners showed more than the total number of Excavators (about 50 or so) owned by all the Large Scale Mining Companies (all the Multinationals Companies) in Ghana who are members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines. Hence, the massive devastation of the environment by the Chinese and their Ghanaian counterparts was self-inflicted due to the gross failure by the State Officials to think outside the box , when the National Security operators relayed the intelligence on the business deals reached between the Ghanaians and their Chinese Counterparts as well as the state of affairs in the ground and come out with a Medium Scale Mining Law by Parliament or failing that a law or policy to contain the risks including immigration rules, monitoring and enforcement to prevent Chinese from entering into the Small Scale Mining Sector or even enter Ghana in large numbers with hundreds of Excavators and substantial amounts not for the construction industry.

Mr President, it is even more shocking to read footnotes number 19 at page 15 of the research work entitled ‘Final report of the impact of Chinese involvement in small-scale gold mining in Ghana’ as documented in May 2015 by Professor Gordon Crawford of Leeds University and three Ghanaians, it revealed that the illegality of foreigners in the Small Scale Mining had the full support of the Presidency, Minerals Commission and the Sector Ministry etc. This involved the operations of Shaanxi Mining Company from China which operated freely at the Talensi District between 2008 and 2015 (you may wish to confirm this story, so please Google for Final report of the impact of Chinese involvement in small-scale gold mining in Ghana by Professor Gordon Crawford of Leeds University and read footnotes number 19 at page 15). This situation persisted beyond 2015 and say up to 2021 despite the Anti-illegal mining operations by the State, so it was heartwarming when Shaanxi Mining Company by itself metamorphosed into a Large Scale Mining Company with the approval of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources under the new name Earl International Group (GH) Gold Mining Limited”.

Mr President for you to take a good decision on my recommendation for the addition of Medium Scale Mining for Ghanaians to collaborate with Foreigners since Mining is Capital Intensive, so it is important to give you more evidence or very disturbing report about the illegal or corrupt acts in the Mining Sector, hence pardon me to refresh your mind about the allegation in May 2021 of the collaboration of the NPP National women organizer with foreigners in the Small Scale Mining Sector at Akyem Akropong in Atiwa West District (you may wish to confirm this story so, Google for Task Force Burns 8 Excavators belonging to NPP Women’s Organizer on 16 May 2021), this speaks volume of the recklessness of State Officials especially the Minerals Commission in the award of Minerals Rights. Once again the buck stops with the President, so please buy my recommendations and act with the speed of light.

It must be stated that during the illegal operations of Shaanxi Mining Company in the Small Scale Mining Sector, it did a very good job, by putting up nice infrastructures, the Company employed over 300 locals and conducted underground mining with no very serious damage to the environment. So it is heartwarming to learn that Shaanxi Mining Company is now operating in the Large-scale Mining sector under a new name. But it need to be monitored and the effective and efficient institution of Metallurgical security code for Earl Group International which evolved or progress from the illegal operations of Shaanxi Mining Company as documented by Researchers etc cannot be over-emphasized. Some Metallurgical security code used by Large Scale Mining Companies are listed below for Medium Scale Mining to ensure no likely smuggling of gold or hoarding of gold.

Additional Recommendations are submitted for public discourses to help you to act as appropriate.

Mr President as stated above, Mining is capital intensive, it is therefore high time for the Minerals Commission and or the Presidency (since the buck stops with the President) to officially acknowledge and appreciate the interest of Ghanaians businessmen to collaborate with foreigners especially Chinese with the needed capital (necessary logistics or limited sophisticated equipment and funding) which is below that of Large Scale Mining but above that of Small Scale Mining sector and come out with a median sector for Mining to be termed as Medium Scale Mining by asking them to Incorporate Mining Companies and meet the necessary conditions before Mining Right can be granted as well as obtain the social license to operate .

It is envisaged that if Medium Scale Mining is introduced for Ghanaians businessmen to collaborate with Chinese and work with the recommended Metallurgical Security Code, Ghana may benefit very much than the current illegal collaboration by the parties which is prone to smuggling of gold in Billions of Dollars and above all, it will greatly help to restrict Small Scale Mining to the rural folks.

It must be noted that Small Scale Mining is regarded worldwide as a poverty driven mining activity and thus made the rural folks to regard Small Scale Mining as God given venture, as a solution for them to escape from their woes from poverty and progress with time from mining to Alternative Livelihood Projects, as a substitute to mining, especially when the ore body is depleted or when there are no more mining activities. This is termed as Sustainability in mining that is mining stimulating other economic activities. So the State must be armed with this knowledge in the fight against Small Scale Mining.

Mr President, You cannot combat an enemy if you failed to identify his or her characteristics and combat the enemy based on the first principle of War or Success in business that is ’’ Selection and Maintenance of Aim’’. So, the Aim for the legislation and formalization of small scale mining is not wealth creation but temporary job creations so they need to be guided and supported to mine effectively and efficiently and help them to use the revenue so obtained to evolve or navigate to Alternative Livelihood Projects or other lucrative economy ventures in Agriculture (fish farming, rearing of rabbit or growing of crops like avocado, growing mushroom, cocoa or oil palm plantation, or in industry or commerce, Technology sectors or for meeting the cost of attending school as part of sustainability of mining. The State must be seen doing exactly this with the support of Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, the Media, UASID, World Bank, UNDP and other institutions can help Ghana with technical support and funding.

Mr President, this State has really missed good opportunities especially support from the International Communities to control the risks in the Small Scale Mining sector seen as a risk or disaster area worldwide. Mr President, the current Small Scale Mining Law is ambiguous and therefore not very very not good one, so it must be reformed or redefined as authenticated by Dr Tony Aubyn a former CEO of the Minerals Commission (my friend and boss when he was with Goldfields and when he was the CEO of Ghana Chamber of Mines).

Mr President travelling from Kumasi to Tarkwa reveals some of the good investments of some Chinese miners or nationals in the national economy, this implies that the Chinese are in Ghana as God send to help contribute in the development of the economy of the Nation including raising national revenue through taxes, provision of jobs and enhancing of the landscape of affected communities. So, I hereby strongly advocate for a third nomenclature or category in the Mining Sector as Medium Scale Mining for Ghanaians to enter partnership with foreigners especially the Chinese in the Mining Sector since this was and is the situation on the ground you need to apply the maxim of the PNDC Chairman Rawlings (the late Papa JJ) and come out with a law for win-win solutions (Common Ground) beneficial for the State, the Chinese (God send people) and their Ghanaian Collaborators. .

Mr President, you may also consider introducing through Parliament a law for Citizenship by Investments, so that foreigners especially the Chinese can acquire Ghanaian Citizenship by investment upon assuring the State that they will invest not less than US$500,000.00, in the National economy and adopt an area and provide the needed support worth not less than US$200,000.00 in the area.

Mr President, for the operation of Medium Scale Mining as stated there must be a requirement for Incorporating of a Company, also the need for a spelt out minimum and maximum capital or funding threshold, posting of Reclamation Bond to ensure backfilling or reclamation and revegetation or regressing after mining, in addition to other prerequisites as deemed appropriate and it is permissible for the Registered Company to operate in more than one Districts or areas, provided it satisfies the preconditions.

Mr President, it is recommended that a Company will be said to be a Medium Scale Mining Company if the seed capital is more than that for Small Scale Mining but less than that for the operation of Large Scale Mining ($100million dollars). Hence, it is recommended that a minimum of $400,000.00 (cost of two or three excavators from China) and not more than 1million dollars by foreigners in the Medium Scale Mining Sector.

Applicants both Ghanaians and Chinese for Medium Scale Mining Companies to be made to declare source of funding, the amount to be used in the operation, the number of local people to be employed or local a content policy to ensure they employ at least 10 people from the area to create employment vacancies and distribute wealth. The local content policy for the proposed Medium Scale Mining should make them to employ a Mining Officer or Manager, a Safety Officer, an Environmental Officer, a Nurse, to help create jobs and distribute wealth.

The proposed Medium Scale Mining Companies to be made to acquire Mining Lease and allocated a minimum of 60 acres and not more than 180 acres as Mining Right for 15 years subject to renewal for another 15years. Under no condition should foreign partners be allowed to operate Medium Scale Mining Companies solely by operating without Ghanaian Counterpart(s) or by sacking or disengaging the Ghanaian Counterpart(s) from the partnership. Medium Scale Mining Companies to work under direct supervision of the Department of the Minerals Commission for Large Scale Mining or a separate Department designated for the proposed Medium Scale Mining.

The proposed Medium Scale Mining Companies must be required to post Reclamation/Re-grassing Bond for restoring the land by the State, if they failed to do so. To reclaim the bond, Mine Closure and approval the Abandonment/exoneration Certificate by the inspectorate division of Minerals Commission, the EPA and DCE should be required.

The proposed Medium Scale Mining Companies to be made to strictly account for gold to be produced and sell same immediately to the Precious Minerals Marketing Company under restricted Marketing policy, without keeping the bullion for more than 240hrs.

The proposed Medium Scale Mining Companies to be guided by Metallurgical Security Code to ensure the proper accounting of the Gold. The code must require effective searching with metal detectors of personnel who happened to enter and are existing from high risk areas of free or loose gold. The present of an officer from GRA (CEPs) immediately after completion of smelting of the gold, so that both parties the Company, represented by I/C of the gold room of the Company and her Senior Security Officer and the State represented by CEPs Official from GRA, provide the bullion with decal number bearing the Company name or abbreviation and succeeding number say TWM -001, TWM -002 etc ,weigh and record the bullion details (the bullion decal number, weight, quantity etc) to be supported with triple signatories of the CEPs Official , I/C of the gold room and Head of security of the Medium Scale Mining Company.

The Metallurgical Security code must require that after boxing of the bullion, the boxes are fixed or sealed with both seals from GRA and the proposed Medium Scale Mining Company and details of the seal numbers are recorded by both parties against or under signatures. Lastly, the gold must be secured in a double lock safe with the I/C of the Gold Room and the Head of Security control one lock each of the two locks of the safe. Also the key to the gold room must be double locked with one key control separately by the I/C of the Gold Room and the other one by the Head of Security. So that the presence of the two key persons with their respective keys is required before gaining access to the boxed bullion.

The Metallurgical Security code should ensure that the boxed bullion (gold) is opened after haven certified on a buying form or certificate from the Precious Minerals Marketing Company presented by the authorized buyer that the parties involved (the PMMC Rep that is the buyer and Company’s shipment Officer and crew) satisfied themselves that the CEPS and the Company seals are intact and copy of details of the bullion as recorded by the Reps from GRA and the Company is available in a sealed envelope before the box is opened for the gold to be assayed by the buyer (an authorize gold buyer or direct by Precious Minerals Marketing Company) assaying or Laboratory analysis must be done under the watch by the Company’s Rep(s) after that the weighing are recorded in PMMC certificate or form and certified as such and the gold and the purities of copper or sliver is paid for through cheque or a bank account.

Anyone (individuals or Company) who wishes to buy and keep gold or bullion must have a license or permit from PMMC to buy with reason from only PMMC and the record of the state of the bullion must be given to Bank of Ghana by PMMC and GRA and maybe the Company by a weekly report.

Local governance for the proposed Medium and Small Scale Mining especially for Small Scale Miners

Mr President, since Small Scale Mining or Community Mining or Cooperative mining is a poverty driven economy activity with no elaborate profit making orientation, the application of the wisdom of the originators of the Small Scale Gold mining Law, that is the Small Scale Gold Mining Law 1989 (PNDCL218) is recommended to guide their operations. Hence they should come together as Cooperative Miners or Community Miners under a good and strong leaders. This is what pertain in Nigeria etc

The District Mining Committees to be invigorated to include a the Chief of the area or his Rep and both the District Police Commander and District NIB Officer should be made as members of the District Mining Committee to give it teeth to bite as far as security is concerned. Besides helping with briefing on relevant security and safety matters, the inclusion of the District Police Commander and District NIB Officer as members of the District Mining Committee will help to make indiscipline miners to fall in line. The BNI etc will help to gather intelligence on vices especially use of explosives by them which could be used for terrorism.

Mr President, taking a trip down memory lane, I can talk of a Nigerian born terrorist by name Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who was found with explosives hidden under his underwear in an airplane in USA on 31 December 2009, reportedly that he bought the explosives from Prestea, Western Region of Ghana. This so because he visited Prestea on 29 December 2009, from a trip from the Arabian Peninsula and then to USA via Nigeria on 29 December 2009. He was arrested, when he attempted to denote the explosives while on board a Northwest Airline Flight 253 en route to Detroit, Michigan. The allegation that the explosives came from Ghana has not be negated or thus remained confirmed. So, with the story of possible attack by terrorist and the security maxim that ‘if you see or hear something suspicious say the something’, this story should be of interest to National Security or the citizenry to serve as a guide for proper measures including good monitoring to deal with wrong handling of explosives in the mining industry.

A policy for Large Scale Mining Companies to be permitted or made to give or cede out areas including spent ore or tailings through the District Mining Committees to Small Scale Mining activities within their concessions with gold bearing which they regard as uneconomic to mine by them is strongly recommended. It is significant to put on record that as Head of Security at Bogoso Mine and with the approval of the then MD of Golden Star and VP Operations, Mr Richard Grey, I Initiated a programme of collaboration with Small Scale Miners by encouraging the Bogoso Mine to cede or rather give part of her concession for small scale mining and then caused without any gain as at date, the establishment of the Prestea Mining Group to operate at the allotted area.

This can be confirmed by the current CEO of COCOBOD, who was then the Chairman of Western REGSEC/ Western Regional Minster or the then MP for Prestea Huni Valley by name Hon Mr Aubin or the then DCE for Prestea Huni Valley (Mr Ayensu) or the Chairman of Prestea Mining Group one Mr Musah through tel number 0542785846. Together with my deputy we made the Mine to give 30 days’ window to Hansol Mining Company belonging to Mr Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) wind up their activities within the Concessions of Golden Star Resources at Prestea under the Policy of Live and Let us Live (copy of documentary evidence by mail to then Chairman Western Regional Security Council/Western Regional Minister now CEO of COCOBOD is with me to authenticate this assertion operations).

I also was part of an idea in September 2004 which led to the Commissioning of GEOMAN Consult Ltd in October 2004 to help to relocate Small Scale Miners from both catchments areas of Bogoso Mine and AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi to Ayanfuri, you may read a version of this bold initiative which was then regarded by competent international Researchers including Professor Gavin Hilson of University of Surrey as the first Action Plan initiative in the World, you may Google for ‘’To move or not to move’: Reflections on the resettlement of Artisanal Miners In the Western Region Of Ghana’’ for scanty details on the subject as the Prestea Action Plan.

Unfortunately, Mr president I caused the abortion of my baby that is the Action Plan (the idea) because GEOMAN Consult indicated that they will spend 10years or so with huge cost implications and due to a seemingly attempt by the then government of the day through the then Minster for Lands and Natural Resources (Professor Hon Dominic K. Fobih) to steal or hijack the show when they gave a political twist on an important master action plan by a private company with international repute and thus may not be accepted by the Foreign shareholders and international creditors, hence it was against the Policy of the Company, so I found both isssues as unacceptable and I swiftly aborted it by a security Intelligence mail to the then MD/VP. The aborted act paved the way for the affected part to be part of the Concession of Perseus Mining Company at a later date (copy of documentary evidence of my bravado action by emails to the VP operations and the report of GEOMAN Consults etc to confirm this assertion are still available with me as documentary evidence).

The experience or lesson gained from collaboration with small scale miners was that it made me to have the leverage over the small scale miners, so I could contain or control the activities of the small scale miners or artisanal miners. For instance, through their leaders, I was able to make them to stop work completely for one week or so when Financial Analysts were conducting risk surveys on the Concessions of the Mine. This good idea of getting Large Scale Mining Companies to collaborate with Small Scale Miners was used or bought by the great late President John Magufuli of Tanzania, the then Tanzania’s 'bulldozer' President between 2015 and 17 March, 2021.

As a Presidential Candidate for the Presidency for Tanzania in 2015 or so, Presidential candidate John Magufuli made a campaign promise to voters mainly a constituency of small scale miners that when they help him to be elected as President of Tanzania in 2015, he will get Barrick Gold Mine of Tanzania to cede part of her concession to them to operate as cooperative or community miners. Immediately he got to office as the President of Tanzania in 2015/2016, the legendary or show boy 'bulldozer' President of Tanzania caused Barrick Gold Mine of Tanzania (Barrick Gold Mine with HQ in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the second gold mine company in the world after Newmont) to collaborate with small scale miners.

So, Barrick Gold Tanzania, ceded part of her concessions for Small Scale mining. Barrick went further to support the Miners with technical and managerial support and was able to contain their mining activities and bought their gold at a price which was a little above the world price and tactically helped the miners to navigate from mining to lucrative economic ventures or Alternative Livelihood Projects and thus reduced the incidence or the risks of small scale mining.

The District Mining Committees should be strengthened with requisite personnel to help with extension services and the Offices of the District Mining Committees should be made as one stop-shop, a place for registration and acquisition of Small Scale Mining License/relevant permits, training and technical and managerial support for the miners. The District Mining Committees to provide training and briefing before mining can take place. Also the District Mining Committees to be responsible for updating miners, for monitoring their activities and for conducting regular inspection of their sites to ensure they conduct responsible mining. The District Mining Committees to organize training in technical skills in mining and processing in environmental friendly way.

District Mining Committees to provide regular Safety, Health, Environmental and Social awareness programme especially on how to reduce the associated risks to the barest minimum. District Mining Committees to train miners on how to run a business enterprise as a measure to improve their Entrepreneur and enterprise or organization skills or Skills in management as a measure to assimilate them effectively into the National economy through Alternative Livelihood Projects or lucrative venture. Training aspect to include how to record details and book keeping, liaison, market evaluation or prediction of gold price, bearing in mind that the price of gold can be volatile that is gold price volatility.

To make the Small Scale Mining sector to contribute to sustainable development, the District Mining Committees to introduce participatory policy by promoting grassroots organizations ensure collaboration by all stakeholders, liaison with the communities as well as institute their associations for social networking or social capital creation for common usage equipment for smelting or processing of gold ore. To help establish cooperation or associations of Small Scale Miners with strong leaders for effective collaboration to deal with security issues, passage of information or work out social capital for a common usage equipment. That is helping them to develop social capital or network by working as a group like Associations to enjoy the benefits accrual to teamwork like sharing of information/experiences, finding solutions to common problems.

Gold mining may come to end one day, so as part of a policy of sustainability in mining, Small Scale Miners must be monitored and encouraged by District Mining Committees to invest their wealth properly to ensure sustainable economic and development. So, Precious Minerals Marketing Company and District Mining Committees to ensure Small Scale Miners operate responsibly including applying the concept of Sustainability in mining by novating or evolving from mining to Alternative Livelihood Projects or to a lucrative economic venture(s). So the policy or the law must restrict the Small Scale Miner to one designated area only. That is to say no Small Miner should be allowed to operate in more than one District and even more than one area in a District.

Precious Minerals Marketing Company, District Mining Committees and the leaders of the Miners to ensure strict adherence to the Minerals and Mining (General) Regulation 2012 (LI2173). Especially the conduct of responsible mining and smelting or processing. The gold produced is properly weighed, documented or recorded, assayed and valued and sold immediately to licensed buyers per Minerals and Mining (General) Regulation (LI2173) and the authorized buyers to also make immediate sales to the proposed Precious Minerals Board. The returns or reports are submitted as prescribed by regulations.

Precious Minerals Marketing Company and District Mining Committees to ensure sanity in this sector and no greediness, once you get some money from mining, you should be encouraged or motivated to invest in Agriculture or alternative livelihood projects (producing of mushrooms farming of avocado, rearing of animals or poultry, snails, rabbits, crop farming etc), which may help navigate them to other economic ventures as part of policy on sustainability in mining. Thus Precious Minerals Marketing Company and District Mining Committees to develop and support other poverty alleviation programmes as part of Alternative Livelihood Projects for mining communities to take them away from mining.

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The District Mining Committees and Precious Minerals Marketing Company to help in the development of or modernizing the Downstream in beneficiation that is adding value to the gold, including the production of jewellery and help in the expansion of the jewellery market both local and International especially in the sub-region

Need to consider the role of Regional Development Corporations and the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM) in the local governance of the proposed Medium Scale Mining and Small Scale Mining should be looked into.

Governance for the Medium Scale Mining and the Small Scale Mining sectors at National level or National Economy level

In the addition to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources associated Commissions and Department especially the Minerals Commissions, the Forestry Commission, Geological Survey Department and the Ministry for Environment and associated EPA, Ministry of Sanitation and the Water Resources Commissions which are all involved in the governance of Mining at the National level, it is recommended that the Precious Minerals Marketing Company should be invigorated and converted into Precious Minerals Board (PMB) akin to COCOBOD and remain with the current Ministry or come under the Ministry of Finance and perform her normal core functions in addition to extension services, help in the backfilling and revegetation on closure of the mine or site .

The proposed PMB should be responsible for all matters affecting Mining within both the proposed Medium Scale Mining and the Small Scale Mining sectors. So that the proposed Precious Minerals Board will support in the development of the Upstream, the Sidestream and the Downstream of the Medium Scale Mining and the Small Scale Mining sectors. Hence, it is recommended this should make the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to divorce the role of development of Community Mining and hand over to proposed PMB due to the political undertone or local politics of rancor and acrimony. The proposed Precious Minerals Board to provide support especially extension services to affected miners akin to COCOBOD’s extension services to Cocoa farmers.

Gold produced by the proposed Medium Scale Mining and Small Scale Miners to be sold to the proposed Precious Minerals Board through licensed or authorized buyers by PMB to create jobs and distribute wealth from Mining, since Ghanaians are the owners of the minerals held in trust by the President. PMB to maintain its core functions of grading, assaying, valuing, and processing precious minerals, buying and selling precious minerals under permits or licenses, appointing licensed buying agents for the purchase of precious minerals produced by the proposed Medium Scale Mining sector and small scale-miners, promoting the development of the precious minerals and jewellery industry in Ghana, all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of its objectives and performing any functions conferred upon it by law.

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Due to lack of trust and accountability issues, it is difficult for Small Scale Miners to access credit facilities or loans from the financial Institutions or lenders. This is due to refusal or failure to pay back the loan or they can vanish at any time because they are nomadic or move to the bush or remote areas from time to time. So, Small Scale Miners normally rely on their own or family resources (cash, inputs). Sometimes they make be lucky to get funding from gold dealers or buyers or patrons or barons.

They sometime get funding or relief through the tributary system that is the process by which the Concession owner and his labour share the outcome product herein gold and the sales of it with two-thirds to the labour gang and one third to the Owner of the Site or pit. So, as stated above, it is recommended that the proposed Precious Minerals Board should be responsible to organize them into association like the Community Mining Groups and not the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources due to the political undertone and the nature of politics in Ghana and difficulty of recouping credit etc provided to them since this is viewed with political lenses or as their share of the political cake. So, PMB so be responsible for funding or common equipment like Trommels for processing of gold, so that it will be in better position to chase them for repayment of credit facilities especially during sales of gold .

MAJOR MOHAMMED BOGOBIRI (RTD)