Small-Scale Miners Endorse GoldBod as Game-changer
The National Concerned Association of Small-Scale Miners, Ghana (NCSSMAG) has endorsed the government’s Gold Board initiative, describing it as a game-changer.
The Board once constituted will be the sole buyer of gold from the legal small-scale mining sector through licensed aggregators and local traders.
According to the NCSSMAG, the Board aligns with its suggestion for a well-structured gold trading sector.
In a press statement, the Association said the initiative is long overdue as it outlined its benefit.
“This initiative is long overdue and will ensure fair pricing, eliminate exploitation by foreign buyers and optimize national benefits from the small-scale mining sector if implemented.”
The group is particularly excited about the government’s objective to use the GOLDBOD as a vehicle to support small-scale miners through geological investigations, concession viability, equipment financing, sustainable environmental management, concessional financing and other corporate social responsibility projects in mining communities.
“This is surely the game-changer that we the small-scale miners of this country need.”
That notwithstanding, it called for adequate resources for the Biard once constituted and operationalized.
“While the law permits PMMC to buy gold from small-scale miners, inadequate government funding has prevented the company from competing effectively in the market. As a result, miners have been forced to rely on foreign buyers, leading to revenue losses for both miners and the state. The emergence of multiple state agencies in the local gold market has not helped either.
“It is therefore imperative for the Mahama government and Parliament to allocate adequate resources to the proposed Gold Board to ensure a well-structured gold market for small-scale miners. At a time of economic crises, the GOLDBOD is Ghana’s surest way of generating significant foreign exchange to stabilize the Ghana cedi for economic revitalization.”
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
