Ghana’s Minerals Commission is actively providing legal cover to a Chinese company to engage in mining illegally.
The Chinese company has been granted a prospecting license by the Minerals Commission, but strangely enough officials of the Commission have gone to the ground to tell the community that the company is there to engage in mining. When what the company is actually engaged in, is illegal mining.
In effect, the company is mining for gold, with the full cover of the Minerals Commission, but is not paying a dime to the government by way of royalty.
Jia Xin Industrial Mining Company (Jia) was granted a prospecting license on 16th September, 2022. What the company is actually doing, however, is not prospecting, but mining at Akokoaso in the Ofoase/Ayirebi constituency in the Eastern Region.
And indications are that the conditions of this development are so scandalous that they can unseat the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals’ Commission, Lawyer Martin Kwaku Ayisi, at the first instance, with the potential of spreading the canker further.
Indeed Mr. Ayisi was present when Jia started operations again at Akokoaso after it had earlier been chased away, and told the citizens of Akokoaso clearly that Jia was back to mine for gold in the area.
In reality, however, what Jia had and still has today, is a prospecting license.
Again, at the program to re-launch the activities Jia, it has been established that the CEO of the Minerals Commission handed over a check for an amount of three hundred thousand Ghana Cedis, which he said was part of the penalty Jia had paid to the Commission for past infractions.
Daily Searchlight has since independently established that such penalties, when paid, goes to the Minerals Commission and the Consolidated Fund, bringing into question the source of the money that Mr. Ayisi handed over to the community.
Again, the Daily Searchlight has independently established that companies that are into prospecting generally do not engage in community assistance except for damaged land and crops when it is engaged in prospecting.
The Daily Searchlight has established that during the re-launch of Jia, Mr. Ayisi ordered the community to set up a fund to be managed by committee to manage an amount of GHc1.2 million that Jia intended to pay the community as part of the penalty, as well as all future royalties that would come from Jia to the community.
We have independently confirmed that when companies are prospecting, they do not pay royalties, either to the government, or the community. Such royalties are only paid by active mines, bringing into question the source of the funds that are being paid to the Akokoaso community.
Speaking to leading members of the Akokoaso Community, they said that as far as they know, Jia is engaged in mining at their 36.33 square kilometer concession.
“Jia is not prospecting. Jia is mining, but we understand that what they have is a prospecting license and not a mining license. When Mr. Ayisi came here, he said that they were here to mine, but we know that what the Minerals Commission has granted them, is a prospecting license,” the community members stated.
Yesterday, the Daily Searchlight independently confirmed at the Minerals Commission that Jia has a prospecting license, and not a mining license.
