Government sets final deadline for small-scale miners to validate licences
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has issued a final warning to small-scale mining licence holders, stating that any operator who fails to prove the legitimacy of their licence by 5:00 pm on 1st September 2025 will lose it permanently.
The directive follows an extensive review by a special committee tasked with auditing all existing small-scale mining permits. Out of 1,278 licences reviewed, only 316 were confirmed to be in full compliance.
The remaining 962 contained various irregularities, with 55 already revoked earlier this year.
Responding to a request from the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM), the Ministry had previously extended the original deadline to the end of August 2025.
However, with the grace period nearly over, the Minister has made it clear that no further extensions will be granted.
A statement from the Ministry’s Licence Review Committee reminded affected licence holders to submit all required documents by the deadline or face automatic revocation.
“Failure to do so will result in the revocation of their licence by the Honourable Minister,” the statement emphasized.
The review and potential revocations form part of the government’s broader strategy to sanitize the mining sector and clamp down on illegal operations.
The Ministry has also announced plans to begin a similar compliance audit of large-scale mining licences in the coming months.
Comments (0)