By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, Oct. 24, GNA – The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has rejected claims that its Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, endorsed illegal mining, describing a circulating social media video as selectively edited and misleading.
It said the video misrepresented the substance and context of remarks made by Mr Gyamfi during an engagement with artisanal and small-scale miners in March 2026.
A statement issued and signed by Mr Gyamfi, said the circulated excerpt omitted the context in which the Chief Executive explained the Government’s policy objective of identifying and documenting mining operators.
He said the policy sought to transition eligible informal operators into a lawful, regulated and environmentally responsible mining system.
He stressed that the Government’s policy was not to legitimise illegal mining but to end illegality by bringing eligible operators into a formal regulatory framework.
Under the proposed approach, eligible operators would be licensed, regulated, monitored, and held accountable for their environmental and operational conduct.
Mr Gyamfi said there was a fundamental difference between permitting illegal mining and creating a pathway for eligible informal or unlicensed miners to regularise their operations and comply with the law.
He said his remarks concerned the formalisation of eligible operators and not the endorsement of illegal mining.
At the 2026 Mining in Motion Summit, Mr Gyamfi reiterated GoldBod’s position that mining regulation must be firm, practical and inclusive.
He said regulation should go beyond policing miners to include the formalisation of operations, capacity building and the creation of opportunities through compliance.
He said that philosophy underpinned its planned Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) Formalisation and Financing Support Programme (FFSP).
The programme is being pursued in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology, and the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF).
Rand Refinery SA is providing technical support for the initiative, according to the statement.
The programme is intended to support formalisation and financing for artisanal and small-scale miners while increasing production, mineral revenues and employment.
He said it was also expected to help reduce operational costs and address environmental degradation associated with mining activities.
GoldBod said the initiative formed part of efforts to establish a regulated mining sector in which eligible operators could operate lawfully and be held accountable for their activities.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Morkporkpor Anku
Email address: [email protected]