GoldBod to formalise eligible small-scale miners within six months

The initiative, known as the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), is designed to bring informal artisanal miners into the regulated mining sector while promoting responsible and environmentally sustainable mining.

Under the programme, eligible miners will be registered into cooperatives through the Department of Cooperatives and receive training in sustainable mining practices, mercury-free processing, land reclamation and environmentally friendly mining methods.

In a write-up issued on Saturday, October 31, 2026, Mr Gyamfi said the programme would “facilitate the full formalization and licensing of registered cooperatives within a six (6) month period.”

He said the registered cooperatives would be directed to suitable mineralised areas approved by the Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Resources Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

The programme has received Cabinet approval and is provided for in an amendment bill to the Minerals and Mining Act currently before Parliament.

Mr Gyamfi said rCOMSDEP was expected to complement the government’s fight against illegal mining through the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), enhance environmental protection and create sustainable employment opportunities for young people.

However, he said eligibility would be restricted to miners who were not operating in areas encumbered by existing mineral rights or locations where mining activities could negatively affect water bodies, forest reserves and communities.

The Ghana Gold Board is collaborating with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to support the programme as part of its statutory responsibility to promote formalisation in the small-scale mining sector.

Mr Gyamfi also cited formalisation initiatives in Colombia, Mongolia, Peru and Tanzania as examples from which Ghana could draw lessons in implementing its own programme.

He argued that properly organised small-scale mining could provide opportunities for indigenous participation in the country’s mineral sector.

“I hold the view that, properly organized artisanal and small-scale mining offers one of the clearest pathways from mineral ownership in law to indigenous ownership in practice,” he said.

He added that formalisation supported by modern technology could improve mining safety, environmental protection, employment creation and the contribution of indigenous enterprises to national development.