Gov’t revokes all mining licenses issued after December 7, 2024

The Government has revoked all small-scale mining licenses issued after December 7, 2024, by the immediate past government.
Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, who announced this during a news briefing in Accra on Wednesday, said due process was not followed in the acquisition of those licenses, hence their revocation.
The decision follows an interim report issued by an 18-member Working Committee set up by the government last month to review the current licensing regime and recommend a comprehensive strategy to tackle the illegal mining menace.
To that end, the government set up a Technical Small-Scale Mining Review Committee to review and validate all existing small-scale mining licenses.
Members of the Committee would have representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission, Water Resources Commission and Attorney-General’s Office.
The Committee would be chaired by the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Yusif Sulemana, and to be deputised by a Director from the Ministry of Environment Science and Technology.
The Lands Minister said the current licensing regime was fraught with so many challenges, hence, the establishment of the Technical Review Committee to review all existing small-scale licenses.
On the terms of reference, Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah said, the Committee was supposed to audit all licenses to ensure they were properly acquired, due process was followed and meet all conditions of continuous validity with respect to environmental protection, safeguarding water bodies, forest reserves, and land preservation standards.
It is also to ensure that all permitting fees have been paid in full.
The committee has two months to carry out its assignment and report to the Ministry.
“All licensees are expected to co-operate and subject their documentation to this exercise within this period. All those who failed o go through this process will have their licenses revoked,” the Minister warned.
Meanwhile, the government had disbanded all Community Mining Schemes with immediate effect.

According to the Minister, all the existing Community Mining Schemes were only in name although the basis for their establishment was to benefit the community.
However, he said, the Working Committee’s findings indicated that “this is not the case” hence, they are to be disbanded and replaced with Small-Scale Mining Cooperatives that would actually serve and benefit the communities.
The Minister said all those Small-Scale Mining Cooperatives would be formed after due diligence with the communities’ involvement so that they properly represented the communities
Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah announced that the ministries of Lands and Natural Resources, and Environment, Science and Technology were working together to establish a new classification for the Small-Scale Mining regime.
GNA