By Erica Apeatua Addo, GNA
Peduase (E/R), Dec. 12, GNA – Mr Ahmed Dasana Nantogman, Chief Operating Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM), has advised communities to be cautious of making excessive demands on newly established mining companies.
He said communities needed to understand mining processes, noting that when operational costs were high and profits had not yet materialised, meeting such demands became difficult.
Mr. Nantogman made the remarks in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during a three‑day training workshop on sustainable mining at Peduase in the Eastern Region.
Thirty editors and reporters selected from Media outlets from the Upper East, Western and Greater Accra Regions participated in the workshop, held on the theme: “Green Mining: Best Practices and Responsible Reporting.”
It was organised by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in partnership with the Association of China–Ghana Mining (ACGM) to strengthen journalists’ capacity to report responsibly on mining and natural resource governance.
Mr. Nantogman said communities should appreciate the terms of agreements with mining companies, which might require firms to undertake development projects only after three years of operation.
“Sometimes as soon as a company arrives, a lot of demands surface. Do this for us; we want this among others. All this distracts the processes,” he said.
Mr. Nantogman recalled: “It took lithium 16 years to get to its current stage, and now it has not even started, and they were debating on royalties.”
“That is why it was not signed the last time when the lithium price was around $3,000; now it’s around $1,000 and we are still fighting over it,” he added.
Mr. Nantogman said the Chamber had recommended a sliding scale for lithium royalties to reflect market prices.
“For instance, if the price goes to 3000 maybe you pay six per cent, it goes to 4000 you pay eight per cent then the company is planning as the price is going up. Then the company will know that we are meeting that,” he explained.
He cautioned that failure to adopt such measures could discourage companies from investing further in the Ghanaian economy.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey