The Wassa Afransie Community Mines, which are anticipated to generate over 1,000 jobs, have been officially opened by George Mireku Duker, the deputy minister of lands and natural resources.
Since the inception of the community mining initiative, 18 community mines have been created, with locations in the Western, Western North, Eastern, Ashanti, Ahafo, and Upper East regions. The Afransie community mine is the nation’s 18th of such mine.
Speaking to journalists during the commissioning, George Mireku Duker, said the community gold mines scheme together with other small-scale gold mines in the country have already created over a million jobs which are rare for major companies in the country to create, hence will continue to leverage on gold to create more jobs.
“People are so enthused and ready to work. How do you create job opportunities? It is by taking advantage of what you have, and we are endowed as a country with natural resources like Gold. So how do we leverage the gold for people to benefit responsibly? This is a way or mechanism that we are using to regularise the small-scale mining sector.”
He added, “Once we’ve opened or commissioned, then the minerals commission will have that mandate to come and direct them as to the norms and also to know the employment opportunities that this concession is creating as I indicated creating. As I indicated, it is creating not less than 1,000 employment opportunities and that is great. How many companies around will create one million jobs, it is very rare to come by, so it’s a great opportunity for the people of this area. What I’m urging them is to mine responsibly, follow all the rudiment in mining”.
He equally revealed government’s plan to outdoor or commission more of such projects in the coming days.
“If we go through your document and the place befits that purpose, why not? We will get it commissioned. That is why we are here, and the commission was established by law. We have also established the district mining committees which are to see to the proper management and all mining in that jurisdiction. So we are ready and if the community is ready, they have the concession which is not in the forest reserve or a river body, we will be ready to commission it,” he indicated.
