I have not granted a single mining license or lease – Abu Jinapor

• The Lands Minister said no single mining license has been issued since he assumed office and there are no plans to do so yet

• He also noted that the military operation is right and lawful because illegal mining must be dealt with properly

• According to him, the government is not against small scale mining but rather against the methods being used for certain mining operations

Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has indicated that he has not granted any mining license or lease since he assumed office.

He said even though the laws of the country mandate him as a minister to grant a license for mining, he has not issued or granted any single license yet.

He made this known while speaking at the Minister’s press briefing in Accra.

“The law vests the authority to renew, extend, or grant mining rights to the minister for lands and natural resources. Since I became minister, I have not granted a single mining license or a lease. I haven’t done so. I am not aware a mining license or lease have been granted or extended by any outfit under the ministry. Certainly not at the level of the minister or ministry.”

“There are processes of application [and] when applications are made, the minerals commission in the interim is supposed to have the mandate under section 14 (Act 703) to give the temporary permit. I want to assure the Ghanaian people that we have not granted any mining license or lease,” he said.

He noted that the operations of the military are lawful and it is in line with measures being made to fight illegal mining noting that his outfit is determined to put an end to the destruction of the environment and forest reserves.

The Natural Resource Minister noted that illegal miners have resorted to mining in the night to avoid being caught by the military operatives. He said the illegal miners are aware of the schedule of the military so they do not go to the mining sights during the day anymore.

However, he has revealed that stringent policies and measures are being adopted to ensure that, the night activities of illegal mining will be halted.

“The mining activities in the night, they call it ‘All night’ in the communities we visited. I think it is important that we deal with this ‘All night’ phenomenon of mining activities. We have to be able to do that, it is necessary,” he said.