“We need to regularise the small-scale mining regime and ensure that the Geological Survey Authority does the mapping for where all the gold reserves are,” he remarked.
According to Dr. Bawumia, the current approach, where miners operate without clear guidance on where to mine, results in significant environmental degradation. “At the moment, people are just doing trial and error, destroying our environment. There is no data backing where they go. They just dig, and if they don’t find anything, they move to the next place,” he explained.
As part of his solution, Dr. Bawumia plans to introduce community mining schemes, ensuring that miners are licensed and their operations directed to areas confirmed by geological surveys.
He also highlighted the need for gold-catcher machines that do not use mercury, which is harmful to the environment. “We want to make sure they are not in water bodies, and that mining is done responsibly and in an environmentally sustainable way,” he added.
Furthermore, Dr. Bawumia underscored the importance of enforcing existing laws to regulate the sector.
He stressed that if miners are not properly regulated, they will continue to operate illegally, often at night or in hidden areas. “We need to regulate them and enforce the laws that already exist. If we don’t, they will continue to destroy the environment,” he warned.
Dr. Bawumia’s plan to address illegal mining seeks to strike a balance between allowing small-scale mining and protecting the environment by ensuring miners follow a regulated and sustainable process.
