President of the National Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association, Michael Kwadwo Peprah, has described as “a smart and practical move” the government’s plan to send small-scale miners to Australia to learn modern and responsible mining methods.
According to him, Ghana’s real challenge in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, also known as galamsey, is not the lack of laws but the absence of modern techniques that allow miners to work without destroying water bodies and forest reserves.
Peprah, speaking on Inside Pages on Metro TV on Saturday, October 4, said the proposed training initiative will help Ghana’s miners learn new technologies that make it possible to mine responsibly.
“The idea is laudable in the sense that the methodology in mining is evolving,” he said.
“In countries like South Africa, people even mine the belly of rivers – but they do it in a way that doesn’t destroy the water bodies. They divert the river temporarily, mine responsibly, and restore it.”
He noted that Ghana’s small-scale miners are often blamed for environmental destruction because they lack access to modern equipment and knowledge about sustainable mining methods.
“Our problem as a country is mining without destroying the water bodies,” he said.
“If government takes people out to learn the new methodology, we can come back, apply it here, and save our water resources.”
Mr Peprah also recalled that a similar move during President Akufo-Addo’s first term when small-scale miners were taken to China for training yielded positive results.
“The President [Akufo-Addo] did a similar thing by taking small-scale miners to China, and it was a very good initiative,” he said.
“This Australia trip will build on that, and I think it’s the right way to go.”
He stressed that mining practices have changed globally, and Ghana must adapt if it wants to balance environmental protection with economic development.
“Mining evolves,” he said. “If we can learn from countries that are mining close to water bodies without destroying them, then we can manage our sector better. This will reduce pollution and still keep thousands of youth employed.”
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s renewed pledge to work with industry leaders to retool Ghana’s small-scale mining sector through international training and technical partnerships.
He said his association is ready to collaborate with government to ensure that miners who are selected for the training in Australia return to share their knowledge and promote best practices locally.
“We’ll support this fully,” he said. “This is not just about travel. it’s about changing mindsets and introducing the technology that will help us mine without destroying our rivers and forests.”
