Chief Executive of Ghana’s Minerals Commission, Dr. Tony Aubynn, has advised African banks and financial institutions to get involved in the provision of capital to local gold and diamond mining entrepreneurs to ensure optimised benefit of mining to Africans.
Dr. Aubynn gave the advice in Abuja, while speaking as a panelist, at the just-ended Nigerian Mining Summit held on 13-15 June 2017.
He was speaking on the topic: “Private Sector Participation in Mining: Addressing Challenges to Doing Business in West African countries.”
He said: “African indigenous banks should not wait for foreign banks to take the juiciest part of the mining value chain and later come to complain about local contents. We must be finding innovative ways of creating local mining entrepreneurs”
The panel was part of efforts by Nigeria’s government to revamp its solid minerals sector. It spotlighted on crucial benefits of increased private sector participation in the mining sector, while highlighting major concerns of private investors.
The panel also compared the contribution of the private sector to mining in West Africa over the last 10 years and discussed what other developing countries with high private sector participation were doing differently.
It discussed how West African governments can address concerns of private investors and increase participation including specific measures, requirements, and structures, including – registration, licenses, host community relations and management, minerals, taxes, funding (e.g., joint ventures, PPP). .
The session also reviewed challenges faced by public and private sector entities in West Africa in attracting financing for mining projects and programmes and looked at investment/financing options available, strategies and requirements to unlock such investments.
Dr. Aubynn also assured his West African counterparts that Ghana has always been available to share its over one century experience in modern mining with its West African counterparts.
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