Kisumu
Thursday May 30, 2024
KNA by Reginna Gichuki
The State Department for Mining has launched a campaign to mobilise artisanal and small-scale miners in the Nyanza region to join cooperative societies.
Nyanza Regional Inspector of Mines Simon Mghanga said the move targets to ensure the miners have a platform to market their minerals.
“The cooperatives will ensure that the miners have markets and that there is fairness in the prices of minerals,” he said.
The government, he added, also plans to use the cooperatives to offer training and capacity building for the miners to reduce the risks involved in the business.
This, he said, will pave the way for the enforcement of the new regulations for artisanal miners to streamline operations in the sector and avert loss of lives.
All artisanal miners in the area, he said, will be registered through the cooperatives and issued with licenses before being allowed to operate.
He noted that the registration exercise which shall be carried out by a special committee has not started adding that the department will continue to sensitise them on safety matters ahead of the licensing.
“As we wait for the licensing process to be completed, we shall keep on insisting that the miners observe safety measures,” he said.
Courtesy; KNA