The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Nii Osah Mills yesterday launched the minerals and mining policy aimed at addressing challenges in the sector.
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Policy to guide extractive sector launched
At the launch, Osah Mills encouraged mining graduate from the University of Mining and Technology to go into small mining to give it a face-lift.
Nii Osah Mills is Lands and Natural Resources minister
The policy comes on the heels of recent chaos at the mining concession of AngloGold Ashanti leading to the death of the company's top official.
The 60 paged document, themed ‘Ensuring Mining Contributes to Sustainable Development’, aims to provide a standard framework for implementing the various mineral laws in the country and regularising small-scale mining.
Additionally, the policy seeks to optimise tax revenue generation, generate skilled employment, develop local capacity for the mineral industry, and also diversifying the country's export base among others.
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The policy was first initiated 17 years ago but had to go through a comprehensive review by various stakeholders.
He said,“I would therefore like to encourage our mining graduates from the University of Mining and Technology to venture into small-scale mining so as to give it the necessary face-lift.”
Osah Mills furthered said the government has a policy to develop the jewellery industry but said it could backfire if the country continues to refine gold outside the country.
“A viable jewellery industry could flourish only if jewellers could have easy access to relatively cheap refined 99.99 purity gold…there is a policy to develop the jewellery industry but the projected industry will not yield the desire benefit if we continue to refine our gold outside the country,” he said.
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