Dr Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive of Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM), has called for the allocation of 30 per cent of total mineral royalties to mining communities for infrastructural development.

He said this should be done over a specific period of time and tied to specific infrastructural projects in order to catalyse the socio-economic development of the mining communities.

Dr Aubynn said currently, only 5.5 per cent of total mineral revenue was paid as royalties to the mining communities.

“We recognise that this amount is woefully inadequate for the stimulation of infrastructural development in the mining communities,” he added.

Dr Aubynn made the call at a day's workshop on the implementation of strategies for mainstreaming artisanal and small scale mining organised by GCM in Accra on Wednesday.

The workshop in partnership with BUSAC Funds was aimed to strategies on the mainstreaming of small scale mining sector and the quest to use mining as catalyst for sustainable national development.

The initiative served as a platform to provide an evidenced-based policy advocacy tool to ensure improvement in the Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM) sector in Ghana.

As a key supporter of local content in mining, Dr Aubynn said a well organised and regulated small scale mining sector was key to the socio-economic development of mining communities as well as a precursor to the involvement of Ghanaians in the mining sector.

He said the Chamber's continuous involvement in the small scale mining sector underscored the industry’s quest to provide leadership for the solution of national issues related to mining.

Dr Aubynn said by championing implementation of the strategies outlined in the research, the Chamber would contribute to environmental protection, revenue generation, and capacity building of players in the small scale sector.

“To us in the industry, Corporate Social Responsibility include activities that enhance capacity building for sustainable livelihood, respect for cultural differences, building of skills of employees, the community and the government,” he said.

He expressed the Chamber's commitment to work with stakeholders to implement principles of collaborative decision-making and shared responsibility for the resolution of social, environment and developmental issues related to mining.