Free-Mercury plants will be equitably distributed – Abu Jinapor assures
Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor has called on all small-scale miners in Ghana to stop using mercury in their mining activities.
According to the minister, the use of mercury does not only destroy the environment but has serious consequences on the health of people living in mining communities including mental and physical disability in children.
“Many small-scale miners rely on mercury to extract gold from the ore. The practice however has serious environmental impact on communities in which they are used. Apart from contaminating water bodies and destroying aquatic lives, exposure to mercury by inhalation can damage the nervous and digestive system,” he said.
Abu Jinapor, who was speaking at the commissioning of mercury-free technology for mining in Ghana, said that the government has acquired these technologies to ensure that use of mercury in mining is curbed.
He added that his ministry will ensure that every small-scale miner in the country has access to these technologies as part of efforts to make mining safe in Ghana.
