Public Relations Officer for the Small Scale Miners Association, Razak Abdul Alhassan has said, the mercury-free gold processing equipment would aid in the operation of its members in the country.
President Akuffo Addo on Monday, June 6, 2022, commissioned 100 mercury-free gold extraction machines to ensure viable, sustainable and environmentally friendly small-scale mining.
However, Abdul Razak stated in an interview with Spice FM, that, the use of mercury used in mining would be a thing of the past as envisaged in the 2013 Minamata Convention.
Razak said the machines serve as a motivation to the miners to stop the use of mercury in mining but added the machines are few for every miner to obtain.
“The mining industry has a membership numbering between 1 to 5 million and these machines are insufficient for us.
The commissioning of the machines is a motivation for us. It would help to ensure our members practice mining in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner,” he said.
He further said the leadership of the Association would lobby for subsidization to make the machines affordable for its members.
-Small Scale Miners
