Government says it has begun the validation of the amount of bauxite that could be mined in the Atewa forest reserve.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who was speaking on Eyewitness News clarified that although the country had projections based on which a deal was signed, the time has come for a proper assessment of the amount of bauxite deposited in the reserve for Ghana’s full benefit.
His announcement comes on the back of concerns raised by a number of relevant stakeholders within the mining space who say they will resist moves for exploratory activities for bauxite in the country, especially in the Atewa forest.
When asked by the host of the show, Selorm Adonoo, if mining of bauxite in the reserve has already commenced, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said “No, mining activities have not started. What is going on is the work of experts who are to validate the bauxite quantity that will be mined within the Atewa region.”
“Over the years, we have been working with some quantity assumptions across the country between Atewa and Nyinahin etc. But we have come to a stage that we need to actually validate what we have there. And so, what we are doing is the validation process to determine exactly how much we have in that region.” the Information Minister added.
Bulldozers and other heavy equipment have already made their way to the forest through the Sagyimase entry point to begin work under the supervision of officials from National Security, the Forestry Commission, Minerals Commission and Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC).
“We know we have bauxite reserve there and other places. We have a projection of what we have in the places. It is with this projection that we sat behind the table to sign this agreement. Now what we need to do is to find how much we can get from the reserves on a particular day, month or year. So what we are doing is to get the forecast out of that”, he added.
The Christian Council of Ghana, has also advised the government not to go ahead with its plan to mine bauxite in the Atewa forest.
In a letter to the presidency in March 2019, the Council said the economic gains were not worth the destruction of the Atewa forest, which provides water for five million Ghanaians.
Further warnings came from the United States Forestry Services, which provided technical consultation service to the government on the proposed mining of bauxite in the Atewa Forest Reserve.
It advised the government to be cautious and seriously evaluate other options including alternatives to mining in the forest.
Meanwhile, the Abuakwa Traditional Council is aware of the development and has given its full backing to the government on its move to mine bauxite in the forest.
President Nana Addo’s assurance
President Nana Akufo-Addo had assured that the bauxite exploration will not in any way destroy the environment.
He believes that the technology to be adopted by the miners will reduce the impact of the mining activity on the ecosystem.
The Atewa forest is highly regarded because it contains Upland Evergreen forest.
The only other place in Ghana with this type of forest is the Tano Ofin Forest Reserve, which is much smaller and has suffered the effects of human activity.
The Atewa forest has been recognized as an important reservoir of biodiversity and has been officially classified in various ways: as a national forest reserve in 1926, a Special Biological Protection Area in 1994, a Hill Sanctuary in 1995 and as one of Ghana’s 30 Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs) in 1999.
In 2001, Atewa was listed as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.
