More than 220 exploration and small-scale mining operations were registered last year and issued with environmental permits to bring sanity into their operations and ensure effective environmental monitoring, Professor Dominic Fobih, Minister of Lands Forestry, announced on Tuesday.

Addressing Journalists at the "Meet the Press Series in Accra," the Minister, until recently responsible for the Science and Environment Ministry, said mining companies had so far achieved about 75 per cent compliance with environmental regulations and standards.

Prof. Fobih attributed the high level of success to a sound environmental awareness created among the mining companies. In addition, the enforcement of reclamation bonds, which made it mandatory for mining companies to make deposits against recovery of degraded land in cases of default, had also achieved a remarkable level of success.

Prof. Fobih said with the enforcement of the bonds 1.5 million dollars and 240 million cedis were posted in cash and 4.8 million dollars in Bank Guarantees and Insurances as reclamation bonds in the last two years.

The Minister said to promote sustainable investment and development, all development projects would have to be sanctioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which would guarantee their environmental suitability.

He said with the assistance of the EPA about 180 such projects were registered in the last two years for environmental assessment, out of which 60 were granted permits. "In addition, 50 existing industries were registered and given permits during the period under review," the Minister said. Prof. Fobih said the final draft of the National Environmental Quality Standards Regulations for the control of environmental pollution had been prepared.