The Minerals Commission has shot down accusations of lies leveled against it by the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, urging the lawmaker to abreast himself with the commission’s licensure regime.
In a statement reacting to Suhuyini’s claims that it flouted the ban imposed on the issuance of licenses to mining firms, the Minerals Commission gave an elaborate explanation of the various licenses and dismissed what it claimed to be an uninformed position by the lawmaker.
The Commission detailed that the ban was imposed on the issuance of reconnaissance/prospecting licenses and not mining lease.
It expounded that an exploration license is granted to allow companies to undertake an inspection to ascertain the viability of an area to minerals resources whereas the mining lease is a permit handed to companies to mine after satisfying the outlined processes.
“A reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploration licence is fundamentally different from a mining lease. A reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploration licence is granted to search for minerals, while a mining lease is granted to mine and/or exploit the mineral after the exploration activities have identified them in commercial quantities. The environmental protocols for mining are more stringent than reconnaissance and prospecting. It is for this reason that Government banned reconnaissance and prospecting in Forest Reserves, except in exceptional circumstances.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the ban does not extend to mining or the actual extraction of minerals. It is public knowledge that part of the concessions of Newmont Ghana Limited, Chirano Gold Mines Ltd and Ghana Bauxite Company fall within Forest Reserves, and these companies have been mining in the forests, prior to, and after the imposition of the ban,” parts of the statement read.
On the specific case of Koantwi Company Limited, the Commission clarified that the company was granted license to mine and the granting of the license and subsequent ratification by Parliament preceded the arrival of Samuel Abu Jinapor.
In respect of Messrs. Koantwi Company Limited, a casual reading of the Forestry Commission’s letter posted by Hon. Suhuyini shows that it was an approval for the issuance of a Forest Entry Permit to the Company to MINE within a portion of the Forest Reserve, and not to undertake reconnaissance and/or prospecting.
“In any case, Messrs. Koantwi Company Limited was granted its mining lease on 22nd September 2020, and ratified by Parliament on 22nd December 2020, before Hon. Jinapor became Minister. The publication by Hon. Suhuyini suggesting that the Minerals Commission was not candid when it said that the Minister has not issued a reconnaissance and/or prospecting license is, therefore, not the case, parts of the statement read.
The Minerals Commission reaffirmed its commitment to the protection of the country’s resources and appealed to the public to seek information from it on issues before going public with them.
“The Commission will urge the general public to engage the Commission on some of these matters before going public. The Commission will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to implement Government policies for the effective utilization and management of the natural resources of our country, and particularly to fight illegal mining and its devastating consequences”, it said.
