‘Bole MP’s accusation against Lands Minister and Minerals Commission baseless’

The attention of the Minerals Commission (the Commission) has been drawn to publications in a section of the media, attributed to the Member of Parliament for the Bole-Bamboi Constituency, Hon. Yusif Sulemana, accusing the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and the Minerals Commission of granting mining concessions to foreigners without proper consultations. The said accusations, claims and/or allegations are false, baseless and unfounded.

The Commission wishes to state, categorically, that in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and the Minerals and Mining (Licensing) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2176), no mineral right is granted without consultation with the relevant persons and institutions to be affected by the mineral operation.

Upon receipt of an application for a mineral right, notice of the application is published in the Gazette, and copies served on the relevant landowner, Chief, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly (MMDA), as well as other interested groups and stakeholders, to enable them raise any concerns they may have.

In addition to the Gazette notification, adequate stakeholder engagements are held, particularly, with the Chiefs and people of the communities where these mining operations will take place. Indeed, in a letter dated 11th October, 2022, addressed to the Commission from the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, the Hon. Minister reinforced the necessity of these engagements, and directed the Commission to “ensure that every application for a mineral right is formally brought t o the attention of the relevant paramount chief, Regional Minister and MMDCE for the area and seek their views on the application before any recommendation for the grant of a mineral right.”

In respect of the specific allegations, the Commission wishes to set the records straight as follows:

1. There are four (4) large scale mining companies (and not seven (7) as alleged) that hold mineral rights in the Bole-Bamboi Constituency. They are Ghana Manganese Company Limited, Tradex Global Limited, P. Charn Ghana Limited, and JH Resources Exploration Ghana Company Limited.
2. Ghana Manganese Company Limited has three (3) prospecting licences in the Constituency, located at Bole, Neterso and Seripe. The Company started operations in August 2020 when they were granted reconnaissance licences to operate in these areas, long before the current Minister assumed office in March 2021. Adequate consultations were held with the communities before the grant of these reconnaissance licences which were converted to prospecting licences in January 2024, after the completion of reconnaissance.
3. Tradex Global Limited has two (2) prospecting licences in Buanfo and Borda, both in Bole, granted in December 2023. Adequate consultations were held with all the relevant stakeholders before the grant of these licences.
4. P. Charn Ghana Limited has a prospecting licence over an area in Wakawaka in Bole, granted in March 2024. This area was originally part of Ghana Manganese Company Limited’s reconnaissance granted in 2020 but was relinquished by the Company and taken up by P. Charn Ghana Limited. Again, adequate stakeholder engagement was held before the grant of the first licence and subsequent thereafter.
5. JH Resources Exploration Ghana Company Limited (“JH Resources”) was first granted a prospecting licence on 17th September 2019, before the current Minister assumed office in March 2021. The prospecting licence, however, expired and was renewed on 26th January 2023.
6. It is, therefore, not true that the Minister has allocated lands to over seven (7) large scale miners from February to date.
7. It is, also, important to note that two of these companies, Tradex Global Limited and P. Charn Ghana Limited, are wholly owned Ghanaian companies. The MP’s allegation that these lands have been granted to only foreigners is, thus, false.
8. The area where the confrontation narrated by the Hon. MP occurred, falls with the concession of JH Resources.
9. Prior to the grant of the prospecting licence to JH Resources in 2019, adequate consultations and stakeholder engagements were held with the communities and all relevant groups, including the Chiefs and People of the affected communities.
10. Subsequent to the grant of the prospecting licences, JH Resources further engaged the communities, and on 29th May 2021, JH Resources signed a Social Responsibility Agreement with the Sonyor Community and the Chiefs and people of the Sonyor Local Community, covering Sonyor, Kablima, Tuntumba, Cluff, Kontonre, Bumbire, all within the Sonyor Traditional Area in the Savannah Region, where JH Resources has its mineral rights.
11. It is, therefore, false for any person to allege that the Chiefs and people of these communities are unaware of the operations of JH Resources in these areas.
12. Further, and in any event, these licenses are for exploration purposes only, that is, reconnaissance and prospecting, and do not constitute a licence to mine. It is, thus, untrue for anyone to allege that the Minister has granted licences to foreigners to mine in the area.
13. Exploration, though risky and capital intensive, constitutes the lifeblood of mining, as it is the only means of finding mineable minerals. Over the years, Government has been working with relevant stakeholders to promote investment in exploration and mining. In furtherance of this, the Commission has elevated its Office in Bole to a Regional Office, and its currently constructing a new office complex to effectively and efficiently regulate and manage mineral operations in the Region.
14. As the Hon. MP notes, there are illegal mining activities in these areas which, occasionally, result in clashes between the licensed companies and the illegal miners. This is not peculiar to the Bole-Bamboi Constituency or the Savannah Region, but a phenomenon which occurs in many mining areas, for which Government is working to clamp down.
15. As part of measures to deal with illegal mining, Government is encouraging responsible and environmentally-sound small scale mining operations. As noted by the Hon. MP, a number of small-scale mining licences have been granted to deserving applicants to mine responsibly, including two (2) Community Mining Schemes in Tinga. A number of small-scale licence applications are, also, pending at the Commission, which the Commission is reviewing to make the necessary recommendations to the Minister, in accordance with Act 703 and L.I. 2176.

The Minerals Commission, under the guidance of the the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, is mindful of its constitutional and statutory duty to see to the regulation and management of the utilisation of the mineral resources of our country, which are by the dictates of our Constitution, the property of the people of Ghana.

The Commission wishes to assure the general public that it remains committed to the efficient and effective exploitation, management and utilisation of the mineral resources of our country, anchored on transparency, integrity and utmost good faith, for the benefit of the people of Ghana.