President Nana Akuffo-Addo on Monday June 6th 2022 commissioned one-hundred (100) mercury-free mineral processing technologies, popularly called Gold Katcha for small scale mining in Ghana at the Independence Square.
Speaking on Ghana Nti on ASEDA FM in Obuasi on Tuesday, Chairman Kumah said that the Mercury in their work has a lot of negative effects on both the environment and the individuals who use them as well.
‘‘Mercury has a lot of effects on the environment and the human body too. Small scale miners who use mercury get a lot of health problems after three to four years of work. Some develop heart and lung diseases,’’ he said.
‘‘Mercury is even now expensive. And so, there are a lot of operational costs for us nowadays,’’ he added.
He revealed that Obuasi Small Scale Miners will get more than ten (10) of the Gold katchas. “I am sure of that, because those of us who went in the name of Obuasi were more than 50 – and we were the town with the largest contingents. Obuasi will definitely benefit from it,” he said.
The mining technology being rolled out in Ghana’s artisanal, small, medium and large-scale mining can process sand, clay and hard rock.
They also have High Recovery Rate (90%+ recoverable gold) compared with other methods that recover just about 30-35% of gold.