Government disbands Community Mining Schemes

The government has disbanded all 26 Community Mining Schemes with immediate effect, according to Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources. He made this announcement during a news briefing in Accra on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

The decision to disband these schemes follows an interim report by an 18-member Working Committee set up last month to review the licensing regime and recommend strategies to tackle illegal mining. The committee found that the Community Mining Schemes were not benefiting local communities as intended.

In place of the disbanded schemes; the government plans to establish Mining Cooperatives to ensure proper representation of community members through due diligence.

The government has also revoked all small-scale mining licenses issued after December 7, 2024 by the immediate past government.

To ensure that, the Technical Small-Scale Mining Review Committee has been established to review and validate all existing small-scale mining licenses. The committee is made up of representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission, Water Resources Commission, and the Attorney-General’s Office.

The committee has been given two months to carry out its assignment and report back to the Ministry.

The Lands Minister warned that “All licensees are expected to cooperate and subject their documentation to this exercise within this period. All those who failed to go through this process will have their licenses revoked.”

This initiative is part of reforming the small-scale mining sector and address illegal mining activities, commonly known as galamsey by the government.