How RSCOMDEP is changing the face of small-scale mining at Mpohor Fiase

A visit to the Ahanta West Mpohor Fiase cooperative mining site under the Responsible Small-Scale Cooperative Mining and Development Programme (RSCOMDEP) offers a glimpse of an attempt to organize small-scale mining around machinery, structured ore processing and a designated facility for managing mining waste.

Operating on a 25-acre concession, the cooperative has established a processing plant equipped with crushing and washing machines, alongside a tailings dam designed to receive waste material from the gold recovery process.

The site is secured and cordoned off, while the ore is transported from an underground shaft to the processing plant, a distance of about half a kilometer.

Led by Charles Ahiati, popularly known as “Abroso”, the operation is seeking to demonstrate how cooperative mining can be organized differently from the uncontrolled activities commonly associated with illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

During a visit to the site, this reporter observed the processing facilities and spoke to the cooperative’s chairman, Raymond Amponsah Kwofie, who is also the Assembly Member for Awunakrom.

He explained that the process begins when ore extracted from underground is brought to the processing area, where it is crushed into smaller pieces before being transferred to the washing plant. “Once the ore is brought here, what we normally do is that we first crush the ore and break it into smaller sizes. Then we take it to the washing plant,” he said.

The washing plant combines several components, including a gold catcher and a washing board, to separate gold from the crushed material. According to Kwofie, the ore is reduced to a fine powder and mixed with water, allowing the gold catcher to collect the gold. The recovered material is then washed manually to separate the gold.

One of the notable features of the cooperative’s operation is its use of three washing plants connected to a common tailings dam. Mr Kwofie explained that the machines process the ore at different points, while the tailings dam receives the waste material generated during processing.

“When it is full, then we use the excavator to excavate and put it at the top over there,” he said, describing how accumulated material is removed from the facility. He explained that the cooperative also makes arrangements for the tailings to undergo further processing to recover gold that the machines may not have extracted during the initial operation.

He said the cooperative sometimes hands the material to other processors, including large scale mining companies to recover the remaining gold. The practice reflects an effort to extract additional value from the ore rather than regard all the material left after the first processing stage as waste.

However, the extent of gold recovery and the environmental implications of the tailings management process would require independent bodies like the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Mineral Commission etc to undertake technical assessment.

For Mr Kwofie, access to machinery is a major difference between the cooperative’s approach and mining in which individuals work with limited equipment. He said the machines had improved the way the group processed ore and reduced some of the risks associated with miners undertaking the work themselves.

“The difference is simple. The difference is we are using, to some level, we are using machines here to process it and to take some risks as compared to galamsey doing it themselves directly,” he said. Asked whether the government had supplied the machines, Mr Kwofie said the initiative was receiving government support and that such assistance was important in securing the equipment.

“We cannot bring these machines from China without the assistance of the government. The government is involved,” he said. His explanation highlights the role of institutional support in helping small-scale miners access equipment that may otherwise be difficult for them to acquire individually.

For instance, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah at the launch of RSCOMDEP at Axim assured the cooperative of government readiness to supply them with equipment provided they follow the strict requirement set by RSCOMDEP in mining.

He consequently asked the cooperative to prove that they were different from the uncontrolled galamsey operators by demonstrating strict compliance with mining laws and protecting the environment.

He indicated the success of the cooperative mining depended on the ability of participating groups to prove that small-scale mining could be conducted responsibly without destroying lands, polluting water bodies or threatening the livelihoods of host communities.

The cooperative model is intended to bring miners together under an organized structure, giving them the opportunity to work with shared facilities and operate within an approved framework.

The tailings dam is central to the cooperative’s processing operation because it receives material left after the washing plants have extracted gold. Mr Kwofie acknowledged that constructing such a facility required considerable resources and technical expertise.

He also sought to distinguish the cooperative’s process from that used by some large-scale mining operations, arguing that its washing process relied primarily on water. However, he acknowledged the use of mercury in the gold recovery process.

That disclosure raises an important environmental consideration. Mercury is hazardous to human health and can contaminate soil and water if it is improperly handled or released into the environment.

Here then comes into the equation the works of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in the use of mercury at the site in the gold recovery process. Consequently, the presence of mechanized processing equipment and a designated tailings dam does not, by itself, establish that an operation is environmentally safe. .

Mr Kwofie’s account provides insight into the cooperative’s operating methods, but with the granting of license and permits to the site, it is presumed the facility has complied with environmental and mining standards. The license is for a period of six months and subjected to renewal base on strict compliance of mining laws and regulations.

Testing the promise of cooperative mining

RSCOMDEP is part of efforts to promote a more organized approach to small-scale mining by encouraging miners to work through cooperatives and adopt more responsible practices. At Mpohor Ahanta Fiase, the combination of underground extraction, mechanized crushing and washing, a common tailings facility and a secured concession provides a visible example of how the model is being implemented.

The cooperative’s long-term success, however, will depend on more than the machinery installed at the site. Compliance with mining regulations, safe working conditions, responsible handling of hazardous substances and proper management of mining waste will be essential to demonstrating that the model can deliver economic benefits without repeating the environmental damage associated with illegal mining.

For Mr Kwofie and the other members, the operation represents an opportunity to show that small-scale mining can be organized as a structured economic activity.

Whether it becomes a sustainable alternative to illegal mining will ultimately depend on how effectively the cooperative combines production, safety, environmental responsibility and accountability.

For more news, join The Chronicle Newspaper channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBSs55E50UqNPvSOm2z

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.