Mining industry must rethink social licence with youth at the centre – GoldBod CEO

Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), has urged the mining industry to reevaluate its social license, placing young people at the forefront of resource development and economic participation. At a National Mining Dialogue, Mr Gyamfi highlighted the growing disconnection between the wealth generated by mining communities and the limited economic opportunities accessible to their youth.

He stressed that this disconnect poses a significant threat to the sustainability of the sector. "The strongest reason to rethink the social license is the youth question," he declared. Mr Gyamfi pointed out that young individuals in mining communities often witness the extraction of wealth from their lands without benefiting from decent work, skills development, ownership, or meaningful economic opportunities.

He emphasized that a social license cannot endure if young people perceive mining as a mere source of casual labor and bystanders, while others view them as troublesome agitators. The GoldBod CEO called for a transformation of the social license into a development compact, focusing on skills development, sustainable employment, local enterprise development, and broader opportunities in mining production and services.

He also urged stakeholders to recognize mining communities as development partners and economic shareholders, rather than merely land donors for mineral extraction. "Mining communities must cease to be treated as mere land donors. They are custodians of the resource and hence must be treated as development partners and economic shareholders," Mr Gyamfi concluded.