It remains uncertain whether Ghana can win the fight against illegal mining as the country maintains a loose regulatory regime on mercury accessibility.
Mercury, the most commonly-used chemical for gold extraction in the small and artisanal mining industry, often fall into wrong hands due to the gap in regulating the product by the Minerals Commission, ghanabusinessnews.com can confirm.
Research has shown that the Minerals Commission issues a renewable license to importers and dealers of mercury at a fee of GH¢7,000 per year while that of industrial users is pegged at GH¢1,000. Free licenses are also issued to educational institutions to use the product for educational purposes.
However, investigations indicate that the commission does not regulate the product from dealers to the end-users and as a result, it is sold on the open market to all who can afford.
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