Gabon’s Minister of Mines, Hervé Patrick Opiangah, appeared before the Finance Committee of Gabon’s National Assembly on Monday 18 December 2023. During his appearance, Hervé Patrick Opiangah gave details of his department’s current activities and plans during the question and answer session.
On the issue of the ongoing campaign to regularise the status of national artisanal miners, Hervé Patrick Opiangah pointed out that it concerns all types of artisanal miners, including sand quarry workers, diamond miners and gold miners. At the same time, he made it clear that “artisanal mining is reserved exclusively for nationals. As such, no expatriates are allowed”, he insisted. According to him, the policy in place aims to cover the entire gold circuit, from the artisanal collector to the purchasing counter, via sales to the Equatorial Mines Company (Société équatoriale des Mines – SEM), not forgetting the jewellery sector (processing).
Hervé Patrick Opiangah also announced that a gold mining school would soon be set up to support Gabonese people wishing to work in this field, as well as a number of other companies, in accordance with established mining agreements. The MPs also wanted to know a little more about corporate social responsibility (CSR), the application of which has often been lacking in the past. On this issue, the minister said that a decree is currently being signed with a view to setting up tripartite committees to ensure that local populations are genuinely taken into account during mining operations.
Tiba Kassamse OUEDRAOGO
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