Modern Mining December 2024

WEST AFRICA

Pressure to foster new skill sets as mining in West Africa grows

Building on the depth of mining expertise in West Africa, developed over more than a century of mining in countries like Ghana, the region is needing to foster local skill sets in response to changing standards and requirements both from government and clients. A mong the recent industry benchmarks, for instance, has been the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) – published in 2020. According to Ivan embraced the GISTM, and have been very busy aligning themselves to the standard,” said Doku. “Irrespective of their host nation’s legislation, they are working towards standardising their compliance globally – so operations in West Africa are also having to come up to speed.”

Ivan Doku, partner and Ghana country manager for SRK Consulting.

Doku, partner and Ghana country manager for SRK Consulting, the breadth of the GISTM requirements means that many more disciplines now need to be adapted or developed. “The world’s leading mining companies have

This is straining the limited global skills pool in tailings management, and more specifically in GISTM compliance. One of the GISTM

SRK Consulting South Africa chairman Vis Reddy.

22  MODERN MINING  www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | DECEMBER 2024