2-day annual WAIMM confab opens in Accra

The Deputy Min­ister of Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Mining, George Mireku Duker, says the government is looking beyond the industry’s fiscal benefits to foster extractives.

“Thus the minerals and mining, oil and gas industries being inte­grated with the rest of the other sectors of the economy to ensure Ghana’s accelerated economic development,” he added.

Mr Duker was speaking on “En­hancing the Sustainability of the Mining Industry in Ghana through Legislation and Transparency,” in Accra on Tuesday at the 5th edition of the West African Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (WAIMM) Annual Industry Con­ference 2023.

The two-day West African Mining, Oil and Gas Conference (WAIC) was held on the theme “Building a Resilient and Sustain­able Natural Resources Industry beyond Global Pandemic.”

Mr Duker noted that the coun­try’s Minerals and Mining Policy was aimed at ensuring that mining contributed to sustainable develop­ment, as such, the guiding princi­ples of the policy while ensuring compliance with the requisite ESG (Environment, Social and Gover­nance) requirements, sought the pursuit of optimal benefits for all stakeholders.

He said it was for that reason the government had adopted several measures and initiatives including the diversification of the mineral production base; reducing the cost of business; good governance; local content; role of invest­ment promotion drives as well as minerals development and future prospects.

Mr Duker said the government was encouraging investment into minerals other than the traditional minerals of gold, diamond, bauxite and manganese.

“Presently, given the level of knowledge of their potential, the country’s bauxite and iron ore re­sources are the focus for develop­ing an integrated Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminum project; and an integrated Iron and Steel project, respectively,” he added.

Hence, the Deputy Sector Min­ister emphasised that it was critical for stakeholders in the resource sector to exchange experiences, create various platforms or use existing ones to work together to ensure that mining was done in a responsible and sustainable manner.

“And the requisite benefits accrued to meet sustainable devel­opment objectives and consequent­ly, aiming at achieving as many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as possible,” he added.

The Executive Secretary, WAIMM, Lawrence Omari-Men­sah, said the conference would provide an excellent opportunity for networking, high-end indus­try solutions, latest development industry practices and operations, technological and technical rec­ommendations to solve industry challenges, and knowledge sharing with experts and both local and international consultants.

“The mission of the WAIC is to provide higher professionalism in mining, petroleum, technology, and related disciplines; to promote knowledge transfer, skillset, and technical excellence through very well-researched and practical key presentations. The WAIC also focuses on creating opportunities for both local, regional and inter­national networking experiences,” he added.

BY ABIGAIL ARTHUR