Accra: The Attorney General's Office has engaged residents of Bompieso and Abosso in the Western Region on the revocation of community mining licences and the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act. The community was also engaged on the need to allow Global (Ghana) Ore Industries Limited to operate peacefully within its legally acquired concession.
According to Ghana News Agency, officials explained that under the 1992 Constitution and relevant mining laws, only the Minerals Commission is mandated to grant mining licences, and any person undertaking mining activities without the requisite documentation is operating illegally. Mr. Kingsley Nana Agyekum, State Attorney for the Western and Western North Regions, urged community members to peacefully vacate portions of the concession now assigned to Global Ore to enable the company to commence operations.
He said Global (Ghana) Ore Industries Limited, with Tax Identification Number (TIN) C006490423, had been granted a licence to undertake underground mining on a 16.2-square-kilometre concession, equivalent to 77 cadastral blocks, including mine infrastructure, a new shaft pit, and a processing plant. Mr. Agyekum noted that despite resistance from some residents over the past two years, the law must be respected and enforced.
'There are laws in the country. Nobody can just stop anyone from mining, but as it stands now, anyone mining in these designated areas is committing an offence punishable by law,' he said. He cautioned community miners against acts of vigilantism, including threats, assaults, and attacks, warning that offenders would face the full rigours of the law.