Western Region hosts Ghana Gold Expo 2020

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ghana expo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be the guest of honour at the opening of the maiden Ghana Gold Expo, which is being held on March 8 to 10 in Takoradi in the Western Region.

Organised in collaboration with “Aurum Monaco” a France-based Gold Refinery, the Expo seeks to promote zero mercury use in gold production and the promotion of best standards practice in the industry.

It will also discuss value addition in the gold industry with the view of ensuring that Ghana obtains maximum revenue from its gold reserves whilst creating a world class jewelry industry in the country.

The Ghana Gold Expo is to also create a synergy among stakeholders and build proper structures in gold mining as one of the proponents of gold mining includes; the contribution to substantial economic benefits to the mining communities as well as increasing incomes and reducing poverty levels among the citizenry.

The mining industry which constitutes both Large Scale and Artisanal Small Scale industries can play a crucial role in economic development and poverty alleviation in rural development, when a proper value chain is put in place.

However, the focus in Ghana over the years was to mine and export raw gold thereby depriving the country of the huge revenues that come from processing gold. When gold is processed, its value increases substantially and the refining process also yields expensive metals like silver, platinum, palladium and copper.

A key part of the Expo is to discuss the environmental impact of both large and small scale mining with a view to abolishing the use of mercury in gold mining and providing support to small-scale and artisanal miners whose contribution to the gold industry in Ghana cannot be overlooked.

With the fight against Galamsey ongoing, the Expo will dwell on approaches that will ensure that small scale miners operate in environmentally-sound ways operate within the laws of Ghana and obtain full benefits from their craft.

As part of the three-day historic event to showcase Ghana’s gold, small scale miners would be trained to undertake due diligence to effectively identify and respond to risks in their supply chain.

Dr. Nawal Aït-Hocine, CEO of Positive Impact, an independent compliance, sustainability and legal professional with 20 years’ experience in executive positions will be presenting a training module centred on RESPONSIBLE GOLD SUPPLY CHAIN detailing due diligence requirements for international markets such as the OECD requirements; how to engage with artisanal and small scale mining; creating a supply chain from mine to retail and the different certification for supply chain.

Other Speakers include; Dr Okyere Darko Mensah, Western Regional Minister; Dr Said Deraz, Chairman and CEO of Euroget Group, owners of Gold Coast Refinery; Mr. Selim Fendi, CEO of Aurum Monaco and Prof Alex Dodoo, Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority.

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