In spite of the falling price of on the world market and their challenges facing mining companies operating in Ghana, the managements of three mining companies have promised not to lay off workers, intending to find tore practical solutions to the problem. The companies are Golden Star Bogoso/Prestea Limited, Goldfields Ghana Limited and Ghana Manganese Company (GMC).

Apart from the drop in the price of gold, managers of mining companies complain of rate of taxes, expensive equipment and increasing prices of tariffs and fuel prices hitch hinder the growth of the industry.

During a visit by members the Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA) and the Ghana Chamber of Mines to the mining locations in Tarkwa in the Western Region, Neale Laffin, Managing Director for Golden Star, revealed that currently the company employs over 2,200 Ghanaians and hopes increase its employment base.

Laffin said one of the core values of the mining company was to ensure employees' well¬-being and safety as well as environmental safety. In view of that, Golden Star conducts daily and periodic monitoring of activities to ensure that the operations do not harm any body and the environment. The communities where the company is located also benefit from the operations through its corporate social responsibility.

In a meeting with the management and staff of Goldfields Ghana Limited at the Tarkwa Gold Mine, in the presence of the visiting journalists, Michiel van Der Merwe, the General Manager, stated that currently the company employs over 2,000 employees. Merwe said despite the challenges facing the industry, the company would not lay off workers.

The GMC also employs over 800 direct employees at present. The company is facing the problem of transporting the minerals through rail as a result of the collapsing national railway system. Even though the male to female ratio in all these companies are not encouraging, with female employees far lower than the male counterparts, the corporate miners are committed to opening their doors for qualified females with the requisite knowledge and skills.

Source: Public Agenda