Ghana: North East traditional leaders petition Lands Minister to formalise mining activities

Traditional leaders in the North East Region have petitioned the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to support the formalisation of mining activities in the region through partnerships involving the Traditional Council, government and investors.

The petition was submitted to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, by the Overlord and elders of the region.

The traditional leaders said the region was losing economic opportunities because some holders of prospecting licences had retained their concessions for more than 16 years without commencing mining operations.

They called for measures to make the region’s gold resources available for responsible mining, arguing that formalising the sector could help reduce illegal mining and its environmental impacts, create jobs for young people and increase revenue from taxes and mineral royalties.

Mr Buah said the concerns raised in the petition were consistent with ongoing reforms to Ghana’s mining licensing regime, particularly efforts to address speculative holding of mineral concessions.

He said a new mining bill before Cabinet would introduce stricter performance reviews for holders of prospecting licences, with non-performing licences subject to revocation to make concessions available to investors prepared to undertake mining activities.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Isaac Andrews Tandoh, said the Commission would take immediate steps to assess the situation in the region.

He said a technical team would conduct field assessments to determine the legal status of existing mineral titles, inspect the concessions and develop a structured operational framework for the proposed partnership.

The Ministry and the Minerals Commission have also nominated representatives to coordinate the implementation of the proposed initiative with the traditional leadership.