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PanAfGeoTheFirstPanAfGeoTrainingonArtisanal&Small-ScaleMining(ASM)ToBe
LaunchedinGhana
Aknowledge-basedsteptowardsasustainablefutureofmininginGhana
Accra,August2017
ThefirstPanAfGeoWorkPackage3trainingonArtisanal&SmallScaleMiningwill takeplace in
Accra,Sep.18-21at:CityEscapeHotel,AugustinoNetoRd,AirportResidentialArea.
Trainees.
ThePanAfGeoWP3workshopisaimedatstafffromtheGhanaGeologicalSurveyAuthority,Minerals
Commission, the Environmental ProtectionAgency, TheGhanaNational Association of Small Scale
Miners, health authorities, the universities as well as representatives from national geological
surveysinNigeria,SierraLeone,TheGambiaandLiberia.
More than 40 representatives from Ghana and 11 representatives from the geological surveys in
neighbouringcountrieswillbeattendingthetraining.
Fundingpartners
TheWP3trainingisprovidedbytheGeologicalSurveyofDenmarkandGreenland(GEUS)andisco-
fundedbyDG-DEVCOandtheIntergovernmentalForumonMining,Minerals,MetalsandSustainable
Development(IGF)
OfficialopeningbyH.E.John-PeterAmewu
H.E. John-Peter Amewu, Minister of Lands & Natural Resources has been invited to officially
inauguratetheworkshoponSep.18at10.00AM.
The EU Head of Delegation to Ghana, Mr. William Hanna, is also expected to be present at the
opening.
H.E. John-Peter Amewu is expected, alongside the EU Head of Delegation to Ghana, Mr.William
Hanna, the Director of IGF Greg Radford and the Coordinator of PanAfGeo, Mr. Jean-Claude
Guillaneau, to provide his foreword to the post-training tutorial handbook to be distributed to all
relevantandinterestedstakeholdersintheminingsectorinGhanaandabroad.
Trainers&lecturers
Thetraining isoverseenbyDr. JohnTychsen,WP3LeadofPanAfGeo,&WP3Co-leadofPanAfGeo
Dr.DanielBoamah,DirectoroftheGhanaGeologicalSurveyAuthority(GGSA) incollaborationwith
trainers from The University of Mining and Technology, The University of Ghana, GGSA, the
EnvironmentalProtectionAgencyandMineralsCommission.
Thetrainingobjective
The main aim of the workshop is to train staff from the GGSA, the regulatory agencies and the
universitiesinvolvedintheASMsectortostrengthentheircapacitytoassistASMoperatorsinGhana
–whileprovidingregionalperspectives.
ParticularemphasiswillbeonhowtheknowledgeandskillsresourcesoftheGGSAcanbemobilized
more actively in the service of ASM operators so as to ensure more profitable, efficient,
environmentallyfriendly,safeandsustainableminingoperationsinGhana.
CapacitatingGGSAiskeytoimprovedminingoperationsinGhana
ASMoperationsemploymore than1millionpeople inGhanaandprovidea livelihood toapp.4-6
million.ItisestimatedthatlegalASMaccountsformorethanonethirdofgoldexportsfromGhana
while the shareprovidedby illegalASM isunknown - despite adisturbing increase in suchmining
practices.
Thus, while legal ASM contributes significantly to Ghana’s GDP, illegal mining is a sustained and
increasingcauseofconcern.Infact,whatisreferredtoas”Galamsey”,isthreateningtopolluteand
spoil vitalwaterbodiesand farmlands, thusputting thecountry’seconomyandcitizens’ livelihood
andhealthatrisk.CivilsocietyorganisationsandtopauthoritiesinGhana,includingPresidentNana
Akufo-Addo,havejoinedforcestofight”Galamsey”.
Yet,evenlegalminersrarelyundertakesufficientpre-operationgeological investigationandminers
tend to shy away from authorities and governmental scrutiny, knowing theywill be called out as
“scape goats” or face repercussions in the event of unwanted mining footprints. Being a non-
regulatory body the GGSA could come to play a crucial role in helping legal ASM operatorsmine
moreefficientlyandknowledgeablybywayofknowledgetransferandon-siteguidance.Becausethe
mandate of GGSA is mainly geo-scientific research/advisory, GGSA staff stand a better chance of
”nudging”miners to optimize their operations in accordance with state of the art methods, thus
helpingtobringtheminingsectorontoalessdamagingtrack.
Thetrainingseekstolendgeo-scientificsupporttoandempowerGGSAstafftobecomesuchcrucial
partners in improvingmining operations in Ghana and to provide know-how tomining operators
acrossAfrica.
ScopeofPanAfGeoWP3
ThePanAfGeoWP3trainingonASMwillbecarriedoutas7in-countryworkshopswithregional
participation.Ghanaisthefirstcountry,inwhichWP3willhostatraining.
PanAfGeo
“PanAfGeo” for “Pan-African Support to the EuroGeoSurveys-Organisation of African Geological
Surveys(EGS-OAGS)Partnership”isaproject,whichsupportsthetrainingofgeoscientificstafffrom
AfricanGeologicalSurveysthroughthedevelopmentofseveraltrainingprogramme.
This3-year(2017-2019)Pan-Africancooperationprogrammeprovidesabout50trainingsessionsfor
some1,200geologistscomingfrom54Africancountries.Thisprogrammeof10.3millioneurosisco-
funded by the European Union through its Directorate-General for International Cooperation and
Development(DGDEVCO),andaConsortiumof12EuropeanGeologicalSurveysledbyBRGM-French
GeologicalSurvey.TheWP3trainingonASMisalsoco-fundedbyCanadianIGF.ThisProgrammeallowstraineestoacquireastate-of-the-arttoolkit,methodsand/orthepossibility
totakepartinfieldtripsconcerningeightgeoscientificdomains:GeoscientificMapping,Mineral
ResourcesAssessment,ArtisanalandSmall-ScaleMining,Environmentalmanagementofmines,
Geohazards,Geoheritage,Geoinformationmanagement,andCommunicationandPromotion.
Moreinfoat:http://panafgeo.eurogeosurveys.org/
Twitter:@PanAfGeo
Contact
Toprovidein-depthinformationonthecontentandperspectivesofthetrainingDr.JohnTychsen&
Dr.DanielBoamahwillbeavailableforindividualinterviewspriorto,duringandaftertheworkshop.
Kindlycontact:
Dr.DanielBoamah:
Phone:+233-24-4260746
E-mail:boamahkwaku@yahoo.com
Dr.JohnTychsen:
E-mail:jt@geus.dk
OrcontactProjectAssistantUllaHolm:
Ullaholm38@hotmail.com
+233(0)554433962