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The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Minerals Commission, Dr Tony Aubynn, has pledged the commitment of the Commission to striving to make Ghana the leading destination of mining sector investment in Africa. Dr Aubynn said the Minerals Commission would foster the efficient and effective regulation, management and utilization of Ghana�s mineral resources through the development of solid knowledge-based and self-led organisation. He said the Commission would create a congenial atmosphere in which all stakeholders would work as partners in a safe environment to achieve a common goal in sustainable development. Speaking at a consultative meeting with the media to address concerns in the mining sector in Accra, yesterday, Dr Aubynn disclosed that the availability of concessions for prospective investors was a challenge to the Minerals Commission, adding that as of December 2013, 235 local and foreign companies had prospecting licenses and that even though some of these companies were not active, they still held on to the concessions. He said another challenge was the limited diversification of the mining sector in the sense that the mineral production base had been limited to only a few traditional minerals like gold, bauxite, manganese and diamonds. He gave the assurance that the Commission would ensure the speedy development of the proposed Assay laboratory at the airport area where land had already been acquired for the purpose. This, he said, this would help in ascertaining the quality and purity of gold exports from Ghana, thereby determining the actual value and the proceeds that would come to government. Dr Aubynn said the Commission had set out a programme to intensify its collaboration with stakeholders with the view to ensuring transparency and adherence to regulatory provisions on bridging the trust gap and building a vibrant miming sector that would contribute sustainably to Ghana�s growth and development. He said targeted actors would include industry, chiefs, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the media, community members and key government institutions that supported the management of the mining sector. On illegal mining, he said, the Act allowed for small scale mining by only Ghanaians in order to ensure employment and income generation for Ghanaians, especially those in local mining areas. Dr Aubynn said the Minerals Commission would encourage community-based co-operatives to acquire small scale licenses and liaise with the Ghana Investment Promotions Centre (GIPC) to promote investment in plant pooling for Small Scale Miners.