The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has announced the revocation of all small-scale mining licences issued after December 7, 2024, citing irregularities in the issuance process.
Speaking at a joint press briefing on March 19, 2025, Armah-Kofi Buah stated that these licences were granted without due process, making their cancellation necessary.
“Now, we are going full steam ahead to revoke all licences based on the findings. Even all licences—it’s mostly licences that were issued from December 7—that is hereby revoked, whether you have EPA licences or not, because the finding is very clear. Those licences from December 7 were rushed. Review processes were not followed; the right things were not done,” he stated.
The decision follows recommendations from key regulatory bodies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Forestry Commission, and the Water Resources Commission, as part of a broader strategy to combat illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
