Dr Aryee uges govt to support mining other minerals apart from gold

A former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Joyce Aryee has suggested the need for government to support Ghanaians to go into mining other forms of minerals, apart from gold.

According to her, there have been so much focus on gold but there are a lot more other minerals that will actually aid the development of the country if Ghanaians were to focus on it.

Contributing to discussions at a town hall meeting organised by Accra based radio station Joy FM, to assess the 100 days of President Akufo-Addo’s government, Dr Aryee said there was so much focus on gold. 

“We need to move away from just focusing on gold mining and to go into other forms of minerals; one of which is Kaolin, so that we can promote Ghanaians in mining.”

Kaolin is one of the most common minerals in Ghana. Kaolin powder is used in ceramics, medicine, coated paper, as a food additive, in toothpaste, as a light diffusing material in white incandescent light bulbs, and in cosmetics. It is generally the main component in porcelain.

”Even shell banks in some of the coastal areas, at Dodi, they grow and form shell banks which can be used in the cement factory and so on. I think a positive attitude towards Ghanaians in mining, focusing on not gold but other minerals that will actually aid our development would be the way to go, she said.

Vice President Alhajji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who was the main speaker at the forum shared similar views with Dr Aryee.

“I share those views, as a country, a lot of the time we forget how much we really have in terms of resources and you were just pointing that out again, and I think it is very important because some of these minerals are in higher demand, much higher priced per tonne than gold and we should look at them,” the Vice President said.

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A former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Joyce Aryee has suggested the need for government to support Ghanaians to go into mining other forms of minerals, apart from gold.

According to her, there have been so much focus on gold but there are a lot more other minerals that will actually aid the development of the country if Ghanaians were to focus on it.

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