The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor has called on Gold Fields Ghana Limited and other large-scale mining companies to partner government in building Ghana into a viable Mining hub of Africa.
The Minister explained that by building Ghana into the mining hub of Africa, the President Akufo-Addo government’s vision is to ensure that all the components of the value chain exit in the country. “From exploration to mining itself, to the refinery, to the downstream industry, to the various linkages in the mining industry gets established here. Including the mining financial center of Africa”. He said.
He was of the view that government cannot achieve this feat without the partnership and cooperation of mining companies such as the Gold Fields and therefore called for stronger collaborations among them.
“I am here to extend a hand of partnership. Let us work together to build the Mining industry in Ghana. Let us be partners, let us cooperate. We don’t have to operate on the bases of adversaries but rather on the bases of partners”
“We are the regulators, you are the operators, at the end of the day we need each other to build that Mining industry, and I as your Minister, I am fully committed to working with Gold Fields to build the company into the biggest Mining industry in the world, not just Africa” He continued.
The Minister made this clarion call when he paid day’s working visit to the Tarkwa Mines of the Gold Fields Ghana Limited on March 22, 2022, to among others ascertain their level operations, inspect some development projects at the Mine and also interact with Management and staff of the company.
He assured that to make this dream a reality, the government is committed to playing its role in creating a conducive environment that will enable Gold Fields and other Mining companies to thrive in Ghana and invest more.
He disclosed that in due time, the Ministry will engage executives of the Ghana Chamber of Mines to get mining institutions on board the Green Ghana Project which will ensure the planting of trees to restore the vegetative cover of the country while commending the company for their own initiatives taken to Green Ghana through oil plantations and other vegetative initiatives.
The Minister hoped that their engagement will help the country contribute largely to the global fight against climate change. “I’m hoping that when we get the opportunity to meet, we will be able to engage and chat a way forward to Green our country for our population and ensure that Ghana is a country that is contributing to the global fight against climate change”
Hon. Jinapor announced the health and safety protocols his Ministry has put in place to ensure that their work is safe for the miners and the people of Ghana, reiterating that the Ministry is going pursue with all seriousness, the recommendations made by the Health and Saftey team he formed to review the entire health and safety regime of the sector.
He also applauded the company for their generous donation of 1million dollars to the Appiatse Support Fund aimed at complementing the government’s efforts to rebuild the Appiatse community.
Congratulating Gold Fields on their Corporate Social Responsibility, (CSR) particularly on the road networks in Tarkwa and Damang, he reminded them of the President’s plea for them to work on the roads in the Tarkwa township.
He also applauded the management of Gold Fields for working tirelessly to ensure that the Mine is always safe.
The working visit of the Minister also saw him being taken on a brief tour of the Tarkwa Mine, mainly the Gold Room, where Gold is smelted and poured.
On the back of the Appiatse explosion incident, the General Manager of the Tarkwa Mine, Mr. Stephen Osei-Bempah in a presentation said the company has since the incident taken better steps to ensure that explosives transported are safe on the road.
On their sites, he said Gold Fields has been able to reduce injuries from 69 to 5 between 2010 and 2021, adding that the company is working hard towards achieving zero harm on all sites.
He hinted that as part of their CSR, the company will soon construct a stadium in Tarkwa and Abosso, a girls dormitory for the Huni-Valley Senior High School, a health care center among many others in their respective localities.
Gold Fields Ghana Limited is one of the biggest gold mines in Africa and the biggest in Ghana with 9 operating Mines and one project in Australia, Chile, Peru and South Africa.
