Dr Bisiw-Kotei Proposes Mercury-Free Mining Alternatives
The Minerals Development Fund (MDF) has moved to dispel the widely held belief that gold mining necessitates the use of hazardous chemicals like mercury and cyanide.
The Fund is currently piloting a locally-developed, environmentally-friendly gold extraction method aimed at providing a sustainable alternative for small-scale miners across the country.
Dr. Hanna Louisa Bisiw-Kotei, Administrator of the MDF, confirmed the viability of chemical-free gold recovery during an interview with Blessed Sogah on JoyNews’ Upfront on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
The MDF is partnering with Lion King Engineering and Mining Support Services, a fully Ghanaian-owned and managed firm, to research and implement these practical green mining technologies. This collaboration seeks to offer safe alternatives to the toxic practices currently harming Ghana’s environment.
“You can do without using mercury or cyanide, okay?… yes, it’s doable,” Dr. Bisiw-Kotei stated emphatically.
At the heart of this initiative is the shaking table method, a non-chemical gold separation technique. Dr. Bisiw-Kotei explained that this process eliminates the need for mercury, known to cause severe neurological damage and birth defects, and cyanide, which contaminates water sources and accelerates environmental degradation.
The technology is being rolled out through the Modular Sustainable Mining Turnkey Initiative (MDF-MSMTI), designed to be a “learning centre… for capacity building,” in line with the MDF Act, 2016 (Act 912).
“Since people will still go back, you know, and mine, let them do it responsibly, okay? So yes, it’s doable. They have the shaking table method and how they can mine, and as you mine, please cover your pit,” she added.
Dr. Bisiw-Kotei stressed the urgency of adopting sustainable methods, noting that illegal mining has infiltrated Ghanaian communities. “We are not even talking about a forest, because we don’t go into the forest, but we are within our communities, where you find mining happening in the backyard of schools, in front of health centres, and behind people’s houses,” she observed.
She further highlighted the tragic human cost of unregulated mining, revealing that she regularly receives disturbing evidence of fatalities. “And if I open my phone, you see dead bodies that people actually take care of. When people die and they bring them out, some snap, some video, and they send it to me, you know, so how do you tackle this?”
The MDF aims to sanitize the small-scale mining sector, reduce pit-related deaths, and curb environmental pollution by promoting the shaking table method and enforcing proper pit reclamation. The new approach promises to empower local miners with safer, more efficient technology, leading to both profitability and regulatory compliance.
Image Source: MYJOYONLINE
