The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has accused critics of selectively editing a video of his remarks on unlicensed small-scale mining, insisting that the circulating excerpt omits important details of his explanation of the government’s mining formalisation policy.
Mr Gyamfi maintained that the government’s approach does not seek to legitimise environmentally destructive mining but to distinguish between operations that must be stopped and those that could be brought under the law.
He identified mining in water bodies, forest reserves and dangerous locations within communities, including roadsides, school lands and residential premises, as unacceptable practices that cannot be tolerated or reformed.
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According to him, eligible artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs) operating outside these prohibited areas should be considered for formalisation under the government’s Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), even if they are currently unlicensed.
His clarification comes as GoldBod prepares to introduce an Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Formalization and Financing Support Program (FFSP) in 2027, in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology and Rand Refinery.
In a statement, Mr Gyamfi said there are three forms of unlicensed artisanal and small-scale mining operations that are “irredeemably wrong and can neither be tolerated nor reformed.”
These, he explained, are mining activities that impact water bodies, operations conducted in forest reserves, and mining in what he described as “obscene places” within communities, including roadsides, school lands and bedrooms, where such activities pose dangers to society and public health.
However, he argued that mining sites outside these prohibited areas could qualify for formalisation, even where operators did not possess the required licences.
“Once artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs) are not mining in a forest reserve, a water body or an obscene place that negatively impacts the environment, that mineralized area, even if unlicensed, meets the eligibility requirement of FORMALIZATION and can be declared as fit for cooperative mining under the government’s ‘Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), he stated.
Mr Sammy Gyamfi said formalising eligible operators is a better approach than pursuing them with soldiers, arguing that the programme is designed to transform unlicensed miners into licensed and responsible operators.
He also accused those circulating the video excerpt of mischievously cutting out important portions of his explanation, saying the edited version fails to capture the full details of the proposed support for miners to obtain the legal documentation, certifications, permits and training required for responsible operations.
At the just-ended Mining in Motion Summit, where he delivered a keynote address on “ASM Formalization: The New Paradigm,” Mr Gyamfi called for mining regulations that combine firm enforcement with practical and commercially viable opportunities for operators.
“Regulation must be firm, but also practical, inclusive and commercially sound. Reform will endure only when compliance becomes a pathway to opportunity rather than hardships,” he said.
He added that mining regulations should go beyond policing operators to include capacity-building and the creation of opportunities for young Africans across the mining and trading ecosystem.
Mr Sammy Gyamfi argued that properly organised small-scale mining could support livelihoods, generate foreign exchange, strengthen Ghana’s reserves, grow indigenous enterprises and contribute to national development.
He maintained that modern technology and sound engineering could improve gold recovery rates, reduce waste, enhance safety, preserve the environment and create productive employment opportunities.
To advance these objectives, GoldBod plans to roll out the FFSP in 2027 in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology and Rand Refinery.
The programme is expected to increase gold production, mineral revenue and job creation while reducing operational costs and environmental risks.