The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has introduced District Mining Committees as part of a major reform of Ghana’s mining laws, Minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has announced.

Under the new framework, mining companies will first be assessed at the district level. Recommendations from these committees will then be forwarded to the ministry in Accra before a final mining licence is granted.

“We have also finished a complete overhaul of the Mining Act, Act 703. And there are key provisions that are going to change the paradigm on how we mine. For example, we have introduced what we call the District Mining Committees,” Mr Buah explained.

He added, “The new idea is critical because we believe that before people in Accra, at the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority, give a licence, that authority must start from the district, from the traditional authorities, from the local place where the mining is going to take place.

“So the District Mining Committees will make recommendations, and when that recommendation comes to the Minerals Commission, that is when the licence is going to be issued.”

The Minister stressed that this decentralised approach is essential in the fight against illegal mining and will ensure stronger regulatory oversight and sustainable management of Ghana’s mineral resources.

He made the remarks on Tuesday, January 27, during a visit by Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, highlighting the government’s commitment to curbing unlawful mining practices.