Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings urges responsible mining after Zijin Mining visit

The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, has highlighted the need for responsible mining after visiting Zijin Mining’s operations at New Abirem in the Eastern Region.

In a post following her field tour to assess the environmental impact of mining activities, the minister said the company’s operations presented a contrast to the destruction witnessed at illegal mining sites in Osino.

Dr Agyeman-Rawlings said the visit demonstrated that mining could be conducted responsibly through deliberate measures to minimise environmental damage and restore degraded lands.

The minister said officials of Zijin Mining took him through the company’s environmental management practices, including land reclamation, rehabilitation of mined-out areas and tree planting.

She stressed that although Ghana’s mineral resources were important to economic development, their extraction should not undermine water bodies, farmlands and ecosystems.

“Our mineral resources are important to Ghana’s economic development, but their extraction must never come at the expense of our water bodies, farmlands, ecosystems and the wellbeing of future generations,” she posted on Facebook after the tour.

The minister’s visit comes amid ongoing concerns about the environmental damage caused by illegal mining, particularly its impact on water resources, agricultural lands and biodiversity.

She called for mining practices that balance economic benefits with environmental protection and the restoration of degraded areas.