The quest to clamp down on small mining, popularly known as galamsey, and its associated activities in the country is on course, as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated that it has initiated stringent measures to deal with companies engaging in galamsey.
According to the EPA, it has revoked the licences of a lot of companies engaged in some small mining in an effort to curtail the activity.
“We have sanctioned a lot and we have been able to revoke their licences,” Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) Dr. Henry Kokofu, told JoyNews on Monday, October 16, 2022.
Illegal mining has been a prolonged subject of discussion in the country, following its adverse impact on the environment.
Despite numerous initiatives put forth by succeeding administrations, such as the creation of task forces to crack down on illegal miners, the canker still exists in the nation.
There have also been calls for the reclamation bond to be implemented.
A reclamation bond is a surety bond that checks the performance of a mining activity or operation after the activity is completed. It ensures that the mined area is returned to its pre-mined state or condition.
Regulation 23 of the Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (L.I 1652) mandates the EPA to ensure that prospective small-scale miners post reclamation bonds in the form of cash into an escrow account based on approved reclamation plans before they are issued permits to mine.
In other jurisdictions, reclamation bonds have been deployed in the large-scale mining sector to promote sustainability in operations. In Ghana, however, the regulation has been left unimplemented.
In 2021, the Auditor-General surcharged EPA a total amount of GH¢524,300 for failing to ensure 12 small-scale miners pay for reclamation bonds before being issued with permits.
Fast-forward, in July 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) served notice that effective September this year, it will enforce the law that requires small-scale mining companies operating in the country to post reclamation bonds for reclaiming mined lands.
During the interview with JoyNews on Monday, Mr Kokofu noted that further actions are being taken by his outfit in collaboration with the Minerals Commission to activate the implementation of the reclamation bond by small-scale miners.
Source: The Independent Ghana