Tarkwa-Nsuaem and Prestea Huni Valley mining communities have been visited as part of the Western Region’s increased community sensitization campaign by the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP).
People in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality’s Badukrom area showed interest in an abandoned mine shaft.
In an effort to lower unemployment, they urged the government to consult with Goldfields and release the area for cooperative mining.
The rCOMSDEP Coordinator, Engineer Frank Pedro Asare, and his team educated miners in Bankyim about the significance of ethical mining methods.
All mining operations should be guided by environmental preservation, health, and safety, he said.
“If we want to mine and still preserve our lives and environment, then health, safety, and the environment must be key,” he noted.
In response to community complaints that the majority of concessions belong to big mining firms, Engineer Asare also revealed that the government was thinking of reviewing the mining licensing system.
“Currently, mining licences can run for up to 30 years. We are considering reforms to reduce it to 15 years so that communities can also have access to mine responsibly,” he explained.
The Apinto community mining site in Prestea Huni Valley and the Brahabobom mining site in Tarkwa-Nsuaem were also visited by the rCOMSDEP team.
Engineer Asare noted that the lack of an adequate mining processing plant at both mining sites presented environmental hazards since miners were washing ore in various locations, contaminating waterways.
To enhance operations, he suggested setting up a process plant.
“There is the need to have a mining plant on the site. That will enable the ore to be washed and gold extracted in a responsible way, rather than washing at different places where water ends up in streams and pollutes them,” he said.
The suggestion was well received by the site’s employees, who pointed out that it would enable them to mine more responsibly and preserve the environment.
Source: newsthemegh.com