Accra, March 23, GNA – Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has called on Gold Fields Ghana Limited and other large-scale mining companies to partner government in building Ghana into a viable mining hub of Africa.
He said the Akufo-Addo-led Government’s vision was to ensure that all components of the mining value-chain existed in the country.
« From exploitation to mining itself, refinery to the downstream industry, to the various linkages in the mining industry will get established here, including the mining financial centre of Africa, » he said.
Mr Jinapor made the call when he paid a working visit to the Tarkwa Mine of Gold Fields Ghana Limited.
He noted that the Government could not achieve that feat without partnership and co-operation of mining companies and, therefore, called for stronger collaborations with the key stakeholders to achieve the desired results.
« I’m here to extend a hand of partnership. Let us work together to build the mining industry in Ghana. Let us be partners, let us co-operate. We don’t have to operate on the basis of adversaries, but rather on the basis of partners, » he added.
« We are the regulators, you are the operators, at the end of the day we need each other to build the mining industry, and I, as your Minister, I’m fully committed to working with Gold Fields to build the company into the biggest mining industry in the world, not just Africa. »
Mr Jinapor said the Government was committed to playing its regulatory role by creating a conducive environment to enable Gold Fields and other mining companies to thrive and invest more in the sector.
The Ministry, he said, would engage the Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines to get mining institutions to support the Green Ghana Project to ensure that planting of trees to restore the vegetative cover of the country was realised.
He commended Gold Fields Ghana Limited for its initiative to green Ghana through oil palm plantations and other vegetative initiatives.
« I’m hoping that when we get the opportunity to meet, we will be able to engage and chart a way forward to green our country for our people to ensure that Ghana is a country that is contributing to the global fight against climate change,” he said.
The Minister applauded the company for its generous donation of one million dollars to the Appiatse Support Fund to complement government’s efforts at rebuild the Appiatse community.
The working visit of the Minister also saw him touring the Tarkwa Mine, mainly the gold room, where gold ore is smelted.
Mr Stephen Osei-Bempah, the General Manager of Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Tarkwa Mine, said following the Appiatse explosion, the company had taken pragmatic steps to ensure that explosives transported met all the regulatory standards to ensure safety.
Due to the adherence of safety measures at the mine site, the company had managed to reduce injuries from 69 to five between 2010 and 2021, he said, adding that it was working hard towards achieving zero harm on all sites.
Mr Osei-Bempah hinted that as part of the mine’s corporate social responsibility, it would soon construct a stadium at Tarkwa and Abosso, a girls dormitory for the Huni-Valley Senior High School, a healthcare centre among other essential facilities in its respective operational areas.
