Mine Closure & Social Mitigation Project

The development objective of the project is to support the Governments efforts to reduce the burden on the national budget by permanently closing uneconomic mines in a socially and environmentally sustainable manner and to provide support to the modernization of t he sector's administrative framework. This objective would be achieved through support for the following thre e components:(i) closure of 29 uneconomic mines and the environmental remediation of mine sites; (ii) financi ng of social mitigation initiatives to help diversify the local economy in support of the Governments restruc turing program for the mining sector; and (iii) technical and institutional assistance for modernizing the administration of mineral rightsThe project aims at:(i) developing effect ive procedures for a technically and environmentally sound approach to the formal closure of uneconomic mines , (ii) identification of measures that would be most effective in mitigating the social hardships resulting f rom the restructuring of the sector, and assistance in creating diversified employment opportunities for redu ndant labor, and (iii) strengthening the agencies involved in restructuring the sector and introducing a modern mining licensing system.