GoldBod CEO Calls for Youth-Centred Social License in Ghana’s Mining Sector

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, Esq., has called for a fundamental rethink of the social license for mining, arguing that the future of Ghana’s mining industry must place young people at the centre of resource development and economic participation.

Speaking at the National Mining Dialogue, Mr. Gyamfi said the growing disconnect between the wealth generated from mining communities and the limited economic opportunities available to their youth posed a serious threat to the sustainability of the sector.

“For me, the strongest reason to rethink the social license is the youth question,” he said. “In our mining communities, young people see wealth leave their land, yet too many do not see any path to decent work, skills, ownership or a meaningful future.”

According to the GoldBod CEO, the situation creates a contradiction that is both unfair and unsustainable, particularly in communities that have hosted mining activities for generations.

He argued that a mining sector that fails to create meaningful opportunities for young people risks losing the trust and support of the very communities in which it operates.

“A social license cannot survive where the youth believe mining has no place for them except as casual laborers and bystanders, while others see them as troublesome agitators,” Mr. Gyamfi stressed.

He therefore called for the social license to be re-imagined as a development compact with the youth, integrating young people into responsible mining through skills development, sustainable employment, local enterprise development and expanded opportunities around mining production and services.

Mr. Gyamfi further advocated a shift in how mining communities are perceived, insisting that they should no longer be regarded merely as areas that provide land for mineral extraction.

“Mining communities must no longer be treated as land donors. They are custodians of the resource and hence must be treated as development partners and economic shareholders,” he said.

The GoldBod CEO challenged stakeholders to confront the persistent ownership gap in Ghana’s mining industry, asking: “After more than a century of mining, why are too many Ghanaians still spectators in the ownership and value of the mines?”

He said addressing that question was essential to building a mining industry that delivers not only mineral wealth, but also jobs, ownership, skills, enterprise and long-term economic opportunity for Ghana’s youth.