Minister of Lands And Natural Resources Hints Of Intention To Create A Market For Production And Sale Of Gold Items

In order to promote the export and trading of refined gold on the global market, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor stated that negotiations with the South African Rand Refinery, a referee of the London Bullion Marketing Association (LBMA), are still ongoing.

He added that the country will get a Gold Souk from the government, which will be a marketplace for making and selling gold products.

He added that the ability of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company’s (PMMC) jewellery division to manufacture gold tablets, engrave, and plate jewelry was “a tremendous boost for their operations”.

“Moving forward, the objective is to build a Gold Souk, a marketplace for manufacture and marketing of gold goods, here in the country,” Mr. Jinapor said on February 28 at a news conference in Accra.

The tracking of excavators has been regarded as one of the most efficient strategies to combat the problem of unlawful small-scale mining also known as Galamsey, according to Mr. Jinapor.
It also repositions small-scale mining, according to him, as a viable source of employment for locals.

As the government steps up its campaign against galamsey, he claimed that the Minerals Commission will outfit 4,000 excavators and other earthmoving machinery with tracking devices.

According to the minister, the government’s decision to lower the withholding tax on unprocessed gold mined by small-scale miners from three percent to one and a half percent in 2015 was consistent with that.

As a result, there was a significant increase in the amount of gold exported from small-scale mining, which went from 3,429.91 kilogrammes (Kg) in 2021 to 22,158.25kg in 2022.

The Commission was better equipped to bring on board 4,000 excavators and earthmoving equipment before the end of the year after successfully tracking 75 excavators over the previous three months.