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Alumni Seminar 2022 Ghana

Sustainable Mining, Natural Resources Awareness and Social Acceptance of Mining

7 - 12 November 2022 at UMaT Ghana

For mining companies, sustainable practices are essential for their “licenses to operate” and their managers need to be environmentally and socially responsible and ensure that costs are covered by revenues. Sustainable mining offers new opportunities for “the capacity for the biosphere (environment) and human civilization to coexist”.

In many resource dependent countries, people resist – sometimes vigorously – mining projects because they see no benefits for their communities and fear the environmental impacts. The Mining and mineral sector in many African countries is fraught with many illegal operations, health and safety challenges, environmental destruction of water bodies and biodiversity, community agitations for more investments in local infrastructure, etc. Often, protests are raised against mining companies and resistance may lead to interruptions of mining operations. The transition into a sustainable future, requires collaborative efforts of industry, institutions and mining communities themselves as catalysts of change.

All this shows the importance of the subject of the Seminars for Alumni who work as professionals in the mining and minerals sector, the mining equipment sector, investors in these sectors, trade unions, consultancy, government agencies, NGOs and research institutions.

The host of the alumni seminar in 2022 is University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa, Ghana.
 
 

Application procedure

Your application (in English language) should emphasize your motivation and personal/professional benefit for your participation. You should illustrate how you plan to integrate the knowledge and experiences obtained at the seminar in Tarkwa into your professional work and how you will involve stakeholders in your co-operation activities.

We only accept online applications to be sent online or to the contact e-mail addresses shown below, only in case you have difficulties with the online uploading.

The deadline for submission is 16 October 2022. We cannot accept any exceptions and delays.

Submit your application on the application website

containing

  1. the online application form
  2. a short CV with photograph
  3. relevant documentation of your alumni status
  4. presentation of your contribution to the seminar, which can be designed creatively, for example as a video or poster

Please, do not include letters of recommendation.

Please note: Completeness of personal data mentioned in the online application form will affect your eligibility as a participant.

After a review by the organizing committee, invited participants will be notified at the end of October 2022 at the latest.

You will have to confirm the acceptance of your invitation by a given deadline date mentioned in the confirmation letter.

For further questions and for submission of your application, please use the following e-mail addresses:

Prof. Dr. Jan C. Bongaerts (j-c [dot] bongaerts [at] ioez [dot] tu-freiberg [dot] de)
Dr. Jiangxue Liu (Jiangxue [dot] Liu [at] bwl [dot] tu-freiberg [dot] de)

Programme

Preliminary Programme

Time LineActivityRemarks
Day 0 - 6 November 2022
Arrival
Day 1 - 7 November 2022

Morning Session

Official Opening Ceremony

Words of welcome by UMaT, Host University of the SeminarProf. Dr. Richard K. Amankwah, Vice-Chancellor
Words of welcome by the Convenors of the SeminarProf. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Drebenstedt, TU Bergakademie Freiberg
Prof. Dr. Jan C. Bongaerts, TU Bergakademie Freiberg
Words of welcome by DAADDirector of DAAD Information Centre, Accra
Keynote Address
Natural resources awareness and social acceptance of mining – The GIADEC Experience
Michael Ansah, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC)
Address by Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources (MP)Hon. George Mireku Duker
 Lunch Break

Afternoon Session

Lectures and Discussion

The mission of FGES and FMMT for education, research and industrial practice for Sustainable MiningProf. Anthony Ewusi
(German Alumnus BTU), Dean of the Faculty of Geosciences and Environmental Studies (FGES)
Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG in Mining: The African perspectiveDr. Akyene Tetteh
Management Studies Department, Faculty of Integrated Management Science (FIMS)
Health and safety and environmental protection in African mining operationsProf. Newton Amegbey
(German Alumnus TU Berlin)
Mining Engineering Department, FMMT
Small-scale gold mining and the problem of mercury: the alternative of direct gold smeltingProf. Sulemana Al-Hassan
Mining Engineering Department, FMMT
Environmentally friendly methods for gold recovery/extractionProf. Grace Ofori-Sarpong, Dean School of Postgraduate Studies (SPS)
Discussion
Day 2 - 9 November 2022

Morning Session

Presentation and Poster Session

Short presentations and poster session by AlumniDr. Jiangxue Liu (TU Bergakademie Freiberg) as Co-ordinator of the Session
 Lunch Break

Afternoon Session

Short-Course with interactive participantion

Stakeholder involvement in Mining operations:

  • Empirical research methods for stakeholder analysis
  • Education for sustainability in mining
  • Stakeholder management for natural resources and mining
  • Community development

Prof. Dr. Jan C. Bongaerts (TU Bergakademie Freiberg) with contributions by
Prof. Sam Famiyeh, MBA IMRE Alumnus, Ghana Institute for Public Administration and Management (GIMPA),

  • Samuel Torkornoo, MBA IMRE Alumnus, Torkornoo & Associates, Accra,
  • Durando Ndongsok, MBA IMRE Alumnus, Founder and Managing Director of S2Services, Douala, Cameroon
  • Dr. Asare Asante-Annor, (German Alumnus BTU), Geological Engineering Department, FGES
Day 3 - 10 November 2022
Excursion DayVisits to Goldfields Ghana Limited – CSR in action –communities social interactions with the company and development projectsEdmund Hassan & Dr. Asare Asante-Annor as coordinators
Evening SessionOfficial seminar dinnerDinner Speech by Flurina Graf Ackah, Head of Competence Centre Mining and Mineral Resources West Africa, German Delegation of Industry, Accra
Day 4 - 11 November 2022

Morning Session

Mining Stakeholder's Day

(Illegal) small-scale mining and deficient tailings cause environmental and health hazardsDr. Eric Stemn
Environmental and Safety Engineering Department, FGES
Small-scale mining and its impacts on agricultural land and food security – a case study of KyebiAdams Kyei Nyarko (Freiberg Alumnus)
Ghanaian communities endowed with natural resources and forgiveness as a tool for restoring peaceAntoinette Tsiboe Darko PhD DAAD African Ghanaian-German Centre for Development Studies Alumna, Centre of Policy Studies, University of Ghana
Mining law, development and human rightsProf. Raymond A. Atuguba, Dean, School of Law, University of Ghana, Legon
Assessing the effects of mining taxation on the environment in GhanaDr. Alex Moyem Kombat, (German Alumnus BTU) Assistant Commissioner of Research and Policy, GRA
 Lunch Break

Afternoon Session

Panel Discussion

Panel discussion 1: how can miners assure the acceptance of mining & maintain their social licence to operate?

  1. initial statements by panelists
  2. first Q & A session
  3. second statements by panelists
  4. second Q & A session
  5. concluding comments and remarks

Panelists:

  • Florence Ansere-Bio (Community Relations Manager, Goldfields Ghana Ltd)
  • Dr Eric Twum (Institute of Green Growth Solutions)
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Drebenstedt, TU Bergakademie Freiberg
  • Antoinette Tsiboe Darko PhD DAAD African Ghanaian-German Centre for Development Studies Alumna
  • Prof. Raymond A. Atuguba, Dean, College of Law, University of Ghana, Legon
Day 5 - 12 November 2022
Scientific Excursion DayVisit to AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine – Processing and Environmental departments

Visit to a small-scale mining site
Edmund Hassan & Dr. Asare Asante-Annor as coordinators
Alumni Meeting

Alumni Meeting & Cultural Night

  • Debriefing
  • Initiatives for further Networking
  • Collection of Evaluation - Questionnaires
  • Hand-out of Certificates
  • Award winning Alumni contributions
  • Farewell and departure
 
Day 6 - 13 November 2022
Departure