By Lawrence Odoom/Phalonzy
The Ghana Gold Board has convened a high-level engagement with the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners and the Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association of Ghana to confront critical bottlenecks undermining gold production nationwide.
The strategic dialogue zeroed in on pressing challenges within the gold value chain, with particular emphasis on purity losses and their deleterious impact on national revenue.
GoldBod Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, flagged the issue as a crippling drain on the Board’s finances and the integrity of Ghana’s gold trade, describing the losses as “a major setback to the Board’s finances and the broader gold trade.”
He issued a clarion call for fortified collaboration between GoldBod and small-scale miners to arrest the decline and enhance operational efficiency across the sector.
Underscoring the Board’s unwavering commitment to the sub-sector, Mr. Gyamfi revealed that “up to 30% of its surplus is earmarked to assist the sector.”
He therefore “urged the associations to submit a comprehensive working plan to guide the implementation of support initiatives.”
In a decisive move against illegal mining, Sammy Gyamfi further disclosed that “plans are far advanced to help tackle illegal mining” and “revealed that GoldBod is in the process of procuring patrol boats to remove illegal miners from water bodies.”
“GoldBod,” he stressed, “remains committed to formalising and strengthening the small-scale mining sector, with a focus on improving transparency, increasing gold output, and promoting responsible mining practices.”