The Dean of the International Relations Office, Prof. Amos Kabo-Bah has called for the need to integrate Geospatial Artificial Intelligence in mining activities in Ghana. According to Prof. Kabo-bah, artificial intelligence brings transparency in helping the government to judiciously allocate taxes and also ensure that mining activities do not negatively affect natural resources. He affirmed that Gold contributes to about 6% of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while cocoa is about 5%. However, the percentage of cocoa production is negatively affected due to illegal mining activities that continue to destroy cocoa plantations and water bodies in Ghana.
Prof. Kabo-Bah made this submission during a panel discussion of a webinar on Unlocking the Potential of Geospatial Data for Mining Operations organized by Picterra, a Swiss firm that provides a cloud-native geospatial artificial intelligence platform, in partnership with Digital Earth Africa.
He disclosed in his submission that artificial intelligence data is considered as a precious tool for development as it helps in accountability and tracking of large numbers of people involved in illegal mining in the Country.
Present at the event was the Minister of Land and Natural Resources, Hon. John Abu Jinapor as the main Speaker. He highlighted the revolutionary role that geospatial data and artificial intelligence play in driving innovation in enhancing productivity, efficiency, and safety within the mining industry. He reiterated the crucial role that the mining industry plays in the Ghanaian economy for several years.
The Minister further disclosed that National Geospatial Policy has been developed to promote the use of a wide array of spatial data, information, and services to regulate the lands and natural resources sector. He further emphasized that the Policy will soon be placed before Ghana’s Cabinet for consideration and when approved, will give a solid foundation in promoting the use of geospatial data in the mining industry.
Other Speakers present were Steven Ramage, Governing Board at Digital Earth Africa; and Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Lead Scientist at Digital Earth Africa.
