Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman in a meeting this morning with small miners at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre instructed the release of more lands to them.
An excerpt from the Minister’s presentation follows:
To this end, I am instructing the GGMC’s Board and Closed Area Committee to urgently release lands with known occurrences of minerals and accessibility to small scale miners in each of the six mining districts. The new administration is cognizant that many persons can acquire lands that are without any minerals or with occurrences too low to ensure viability. We are also aware of the significant amount of lands abandoned by medium scale miners alone over the last year, for one reason or another, these lands are ideal for small scale miners who are more likely to bear fruitful prospects. I therefore want to ensure that access to these lands is given to genuine small scale miners who can have an opportunity to make effective use of the land, and more importantly, that this process be completed within three (3) months whilst ensuring:
- Transparent and Equitable distribution based on criteria to be established
- Infrastructural development – access roads, Bridges etc.
- Mineral data available to miners
- 4. Provision of Technical Support in recovery methods
- Support in ensuring mine safety and Occupational Health
- 6. Establishment of Demonstration sites to train miners in best practices
- Provision of geo-technical services
- 8. Resolution of any land tenure disputes within the areas to be allocated
