The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, says Ghanaian mining companies have no excuse for leaving behind degraded lands and poor road networks after witnessing how a former industrial mine in China has been transformed into an eco-tourism site meeting UNESCO standards.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who on Monday, September 7, 2026, toured the Zijinshan Open-pit Gold and Copper Mine in Longyan, Fujian Province, said he was amazed to see tarred roads, conserved water bodies and reclaimed lands transformed into botanical gardens, tea gardens, fruit gardens and an ecological farm.

He said the model demonstrates that mining and environmental protection can coexist, noting that Ghana, which has been mining for more than 100 years, is yet to achieve such a standard.

“What has been done here is to recover minerals and at the same time conserve the environment for biodiversity and eco-tourism. Ghanaian companies must make road construction, protection of water bodies, environmental conservation and reclamation their top priority,” Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah told journalists after the tour.

The mine, which is the birthplace of Zijin Mining Group, is located on Zijin Mountain and has been developed into an eco-tourism space, with a botanical garden built on reclaimed industrial land, optimised plant selection, layered water management and soil conservation on former slag and tailings dumps.

The site forms part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks network.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said the company’s success is anchored in its five-pronged mining engineering model, which integrates geological exploration, mining, mineral processing, smelting and environmental protection to promote tourism and maximise gold and copper recovery from low-grade resources.

He said it would be in Ghana’s best interest for Zijin Mining Group, which has operated in China for 34 years and began operations in Ghana in 2025 after acquiring the Akyem Gold Mine, to lead the introduction of the model in Ghana.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah also charged all other mining companies operating in Ghana to emulate the Chinese model and adhere to high standards of environmental protection, road construction and water body conservation.

The President of Zijin Mining Group, Lin Hongfu, who spoke through an interpreter, said the company’s transformation over three decades was driven by technical and geological expertise, advanced technology, competitiveness, financial commitment to the value chain and a determination to build global investment influence.