Takoradi, Nov. 12, GNA - Deliberate policies should be targeted at the exploitation and utilization of industrial minerals to diversify the social and economic benefits derived from mining, Dr Joyce Aryee, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said on Thursday. Speaking at an interaction with the Western Region Press Corps organized by the Chamber at Takoradi, she said the country abounds in industrial minerals such as lime, marble, clay, kaolin, salt, mica and many more. These minerals are used in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food industries, she said. Dr Aryee said the Minerals Development Fund (MDF), which has been in existence since 1994, ensures that a portion of the mineral royalties goes directly to benefit mining communities in the area of research and other projects related to mining.

She said only 10 per cent of the mineral royalties paid by mining companies goes into the MDF and another nine per cent paid to host communities including district assemblies, traditional councils and stools. Dr Aryee said the proportion of the total mineral revenue, which goes directly to the district assemblies, represented only 5.5 percent of the total mineral royalty payments. She said the amount was woefully inadequate for the stimulation of infrastructural development in the mining communities. "The Chamber is, therefore, advocating for 30 per cent of the royalties to be returned to mining areas for specific period of time and ring fenced to specific infrastructural projects in order to catalyze the socio-economic development of mining districts", Dr. Aryee said. She said the Chamber would continue to pursue the quest for mining to be repositioned as a catalyst for development rather than as a source of revenue only.

Dr Aryee said opportunities abound for the country to harness the potential linkages between the mining industries and secondary industries. She said the Chamber would also continue to work with stakeholders to implement principles of collaborative decision-making and shared responsibility for the resolution of social, environment and developmental issues related to mining. 12 Nov. 10