By Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Takoradi, July 20, GNA – The Attorney General’s Office has engaged residents of Bompieso and Abosso in the Western Region on the revocation of community mining licences and the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act.
The community was also engaged on the need to allow Global (Ghana) Ore Industries Limited to operate peacefully within its legally acquired concession.
Officials explained that under the 1992 Constitution and relevant mining laws, only the Minerals Commission is mandated to grant mining licences, and any person undertaking mining activities without the requisite documentation is operating illegally.
Mr Kingsley Nana Agyekum, State Attorney for the Western and Western North Regions, urged community members to peacefully vacate portions of the concession now assigned to Global Ore to enable the company to commence operations.
He said Global (Ghana) Ore Industries Limited, with Tax Identification Number (TIN) C006490423, had been granted a licence to undertake underground mining on a 16.2-square-kilometre concession, equivalent to 77 cadastral blocks, including mine infrastructure, a new shaft pit and a processing plant.
Mr Agyekum noted that despite resistance from some residents over the past two years, the law must be respected and enforced.
“There are laws in the country. Nobody can just stop anyone from mining, but as it stands now, anyone mining in these designated areas is committing an offence punishable by law,” he said.
He cautioned community miners against acts of vigilantism, including threats, assaults and attacks, warning that offenders would face the full rigours of the law.
“A person without a licence granted by the Minerals Commission commits an offence and is liable to a fine of not less than 10,000 penalty units, equivalent to GHc 120,000, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and not more than 25 years,” the State Attorney cautioned.
Mr Francis Annobil, Western Regional Manager of the Minerals Commission, said Global Ore had been granted a 17-year mining licence effective December 13, 2024.
He explained that although some community mining activities had taken place on the concession, the tenure of those operations had expired, in addition to the Government’s revocation of all community mining licences.
“We know government has cancelled the old system and will roll out responsible cooperative mining. But you need documentation. Those without documentation are engaged in illegal operations. In any case, community mining is banned,” he said.
Mr Joseph Yankson Forbah Jnr., General Manager of Global Ore, said the company was committed to a peaceful operating environment and had engaged residents and illegal miners through mediation and dialogue.
He said the company’s operations would prioritise local employment, skills development and community advancement, while services such as mining, catering, engineering and transport would be outsourced to qualified local contractors in line with Ghana’s local content policy.
Mr Forbah said an employment committee made up of community representatives and officials from the company’s human resource and community relations departments would supervise the recruitment of unskilled labour to ensure fairness and transparency.
He appealed to persons involved in illegal mining to embrace the transition to formal mining, stressing that the company would provide decent employment opportunities, improved occupational safety standards, annual leave and pension benefits.
“We are not here to destroy communities. We are here to partner with them, create jobs, develop the area and ensure mining benefits everyone,” he said.
Mr Emmanuel Okyere, lawyer for Global Ore, said all statutory requirements, including Environmental Protection Agency permits, had been secured.
“We really need these community agitations to cease, and we appeal to all stakeholders to help us,” he said.
Nana Asare Bediako, Abusuapanyin of Bompieso, said traditional authorities were ready to welcome the company and urged residents to place community development and progress above individual interests.
Mrs Angela Oboshie Abba, Head of the Attorney General’s Office for the Western and Western North regions, described developments within the Abosso-Bompieso mining enclave as a matter of serious concern.
She said the office was working to uphold justice while helping to curb illegal mining activities that had degraded vast tracts of land in the area.
GNA
Edited by Justina Hilda Paaga/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Mildred Siabi-Mensah