By Philip Tengzu
Wa (UW/R), Jan. 18, GNA – Azumah Resources Limited, a gold exploration company operating in the Upper West Region, says it has intensified engagements with its host communities to deepen relations ahead of the commencement of construction works and subsequent exploitation.
It said the engagement was necessary to enable the communities to prepare adequately to take advantage of the Local Content Law to benefit from the impending mining activities of the company.
Nana Dwemoh Benneh, a Director at the Mine, said this in Wa during a media engagement and training on mining reporting in the Upper West Region.
It was to introduce the journalists and media practitioners to activities in the mining industry and whip up their interest in reporting on the sector.
Nana Benneh said the company had a concession in the Cherikpong area in the Nadowli-Kaleo District among others and was engaging potential investors to secure the needed capital to commence mine construction in the area.
“While we at Azumah Resources are raising funds and preparing to set up the construction to start the mining, the same way, we want the communities to be preparing so that by the time the mines are ready for operation they will also be ready to provide the services and that way there is a shared improvement in all our livelihoods,” he said.
“We don’t want to wait to spend two to three years preparing the mines before the community will now start to do the preparing, we want to do the preparation together.”
“So, in this period of preparation, it is critical that we engage with all the stakeholders in the community because given the Local Content Law have in our country, all the services that are needed, once the mines become operational, will have to be provided by the community to the best of its ability,” Nana Benneh said.
The community could provide catering, construction, labour, and supply services, which would be a long-term opportunity, he noted.
The media, therefore, could educate the communities and stakeholders on the prospects, opportunities and operations of the Mine, hence the training, he said.
Mr Hector Nyinaku, the Country Administration Manager of Azumah Resources Ltd, noted that the company had identified gold ore in the region that could take it about 10 years to exploit, however, prospecting in other areas was still ongoing.
He expressed the hope that they would discover more deposits, which would have great benefits to the region.
The company had considered the environmental plan of its activities, as required by law, which also formed an integral part of securing investors, he said.
Mr Wahid Bampuori-Iddrisu, the Director of Community Relations of the company, urged the media to project the potential opportunities rather than engaging in acts that could affect its reputation.
GNA