Small-scale illegal mining, popularly referred to as 'galamsey', poses serious threats to human life and the environment. In many mining communities in Ghana, wanton environmental destruction ...
The fact that the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in Ghana is driven largely by poverty means that the sector is a major source of livelihood for people in mining communities across ...
The Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, has pointed to the lack of legal mining sites as the primary cause of illegal mining (galamsey) in Ghana. Speaking before Parliament ...
The Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency on illegal mining popularly known as galamsey as soon as possible.
This article investigates the profound and escalating crisis caused by illegal small-scale gold mining, locally known as galamsey, in Ghana. It delves into how these unregulated mining activities ...
Since 2007, illegal mining operations locally known as "galamsey" have ravaged Ghana's forests and bodies of water. A report by the World Resource Institute shows that Ghana is losing its forests at a 60 percent rate, faster than any country in the world. Today, illegal mining is one of the largest causes of forest destruction in Ghana.
The image above shows gold mining encroachment in the Upper Wassaw Forest Reserve, a habitat for the green-tailed bristlebill and Tai Forest treefrog, which are classified as species of conservation concern.The image was captured on April 30, 2020, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. Out of 28 protected areas in southwestern Ghana, Upper …
The uncontrolled activities of illegal mining (galamsey) are adversely affecting water bodies, vegetation, wild animals, human health and safety. Various stakeholders are calling for the abolishment or regularisation of galamsey as well as the restoration of abandoned sites across the country. Indeed, in the
Ghana's widespread illegal mining activities are destroying the gold-rich West African country's forests, the government's forestry agency warned Tuesday at a news conference in Accra.
This article discusses the socio-cultural consequences of small-scale artisanal gold mining on the archaeological record and other heritage resources at Awudua Dada, located in the Prestia-Huni ...
"Government must also invest in the rehabilitation and reclamation of degraded lands, including reforestation projects and the restoration of abandoned mining sites, and intensify public education and awareness campaigns to educate citizens about the long-term effects of illegal mining on water resources, health, and the environment," it added.
In Ghana, the vices of gold fever have afflicted the traditional artisanal mining (TAM) of rural folks, their time-honoured and environmentally friendly livelihood activity that dates back several centuries ago when their ancestors mined and traded in gold with Arabs and Europeans (Ofosu-Mensah, 2010: 124; Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources [MLNR, …
Artisanal Small-scale mining (ASM), popularly known as 'galamsey' in the mineral-rich country of Ghana, is a fast-growing phenomenon that is present in several other countries with underground mineral resources. Coined from the English phrase, "gather and sell", galamsey has become a subject of great concern for governmental agencies, the private sector, local …
Illegal gold mining activities contribute tremendously to the local economy of the communities within which the practice is conducted. Despite such developments, its activities come with several ...
The dynamics and livelihood implications of illegal mining in Ghana: A critical assessment
Recent interest by governmental, non-governmental and civil society organisations in monitoring, tracing, tracking and flushing out illegal mining activities in Ghana has intensified due to the fact that large tracts of arable lands, forests and water resources are destroyed by this group of illegal miners. Yet, the scale of operation, types, characteristics and spatial …
Illegal gold mining, locally known as galamsey, is a pressing issue in Ghana. This practice, driven by economic desperation and weak regulatory frameworks, has severe …
from mining should be used to clean up the environment around the mining sites. • Inform and sensitize artisanal miners about their rights and responsibilities under the national mining laws, how to access mining titles and operate in a legal way. Meanwhile processing mining permits should be user-friendly and decentralized.
Mining at the Tarkwa Mine in Ghana. Photo via Wikimedia Commons. "Galamsey" Africa is endowed with numerous natural resources including gold, ore, copper, bauxite, manganese, and timber among others. Formal extractive companies do not offer much employment to local people, pushing them to find employment through illegal mining practices.
Twenty-one Ghanaians have been sentenced to a total of 340 years imprisonment by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for illegal mining locally known as galamsey, in five different sites in the Western region.. Apart from the jail terms, the court, presided over by Hathia Ama Manu, also imposed a fine of GH¢120,000 on each of the 21 convicts, totalling GH¢2.52 million.
The study found that with the Stop Galamsay agenda, media houses across the country collaborated to promote their efforts towards it, this dominated peak periods and programs such as the breakfast shows, drive time, evening programs, etc. ...
Illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) in South-Western Ghana has grown tremendously in the last decade and caused significant environmental degradation. Excessive cloud cover in the area has limited the use of optical remote sensing data to map and monitor the extent of these activities. This study investigated the use of annual time-series Sentinel-1 data …
Galamsey's influence goes beyond only environmental harm as well. It encourages lawlessness since some mining areas develop criminal activities and violence. This …
In the meantime, the paper also suggests that the confiscated excavators from the mining sites, which are usually burnt, should be stopped and rather sold to generate capital for reclamation of ...
A coalition of civil society organizations, labor unions, media outlets and religious leaders in Ghana have intensified pressure on the government to act decisively against illegal mining, known ...
Mantey et al., [1] defines "galamsey" as the practice of illicitly mining and/or extracting gold found either at or below soil and water surface in Ghana. It is an illegal or unregulated form of artisanal small scale gold mining (ASM) and could either be in a stand-alone mining mode, a stand-alone processing or gold extraction mode or in a simultaneous mining …
An uncovered deep pit at the Manwe mining site in the Upper West Region In the case of Zebila and its environs in the Bawku West District, the illegal miners are engaged in surface mining.
The image above shows gold mining encroachment in the Upper Wassaw Forest Reserve, a habitat for the green-tailed bristlebill and Tai Forest treefrog, which are classified as species of conservation concern.The image …
Abstract: Ghana's burgeoning galamsey crisis represents a striking embodiment of the modus operandi outlined by Interpol's study on illegal mining via ILLEGAL MINING AND ASSOCIATED CRIMES-INTERPOL.Despite not being explicitly mentioned in the study, Ghana fits squarely within the framework outlined, demonstrating patterns of illegal mining activities …