Gabon’s new Minister of Mines, Hervé Patrick Opiangah, has signed the lifting of the suspension of artisanal mining and gold production on 20 September 2023. The suspension was imposed 3 years ago. According to the press release, this decision reflects the government’s determination to encourage nationals to take an interest in the gold industry. It was also followed by the introduction of new provisions to regulate the sector.
According to the Gabonese Minister of Mines, the measure suspending artisanal gold mining has exacerbated the precarious situation of people living in rural areas, who are increasingly turning to this activity. “With this in mind, and in a show of solidarity with the local population, the Transitional Government has today decided to lift the temporary suspension of all gold panning, prospecting and production activities throughout the country”, he wrote. According to Hervé Patrick Opiangah, the Transitional Government’s aim in taking this decision is to contribute to local development, to empower households in rural areas, and to encourage nationals to take an interest in the gold industry.
The note reassures that the re-established gold mining activity will be carried out under the strict supervision of the Mining Administration, and the production from these mining units will be collected by the deployment of gold-buying counters set up by economic operators in the sector, including the Equatorial Mining Company (Société Equatoriale des Mines – SEM), the secular arm of the State, to ensure better traceability of this artisanal gold production and better monitoring of the related taxation.
In order to ensure that this practice complies with the legislation governing the sector, the Ministry is committed to supporting all players in the artisanal sector in the process of extracting value from gold and its by-products, in a controlled and responsible operation that complies with environmental standards and requirements, and with the Administration’s specifications. The government is therefore announcing new measures, including regularisation sessions for artisanal miners, during which it will issue artisanal mining cards in situ to local populations only.
Tiba Kassamse OUEDRAOGO
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