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Ghana’s wildcat gold mining booms, poisoning people and nature


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Ghana’s wildcat gold mining booms, poisoning people and nature

STORY: This unlicensed gold mine in Ghana is a booming business.

It’s one of many in the country generating livelihoods and informal revenue streams.

Even as it harms miners’ health, pollutes waterways, and fuels ******.

Known in Ghana as “galamsey,” unlicensed gold mining has grown at a breakneck pace this year, as global gold prices have risen by almost 30%.

Small-scale mines produced 1.2 million ounces of gold in the first seven months of this year.

That’s more than in the whole of 2023, according to Ghana’s industry regulator.

About 40% of the country’s total gold output comes from small mines.

And up to 80% of them are unlicensed.

“So it’s an industry that is very informal and it makes it easy for organized ****** to get involved.”

That’s Chris Aston, who heads up a British-backed program aimed at regulating Ghana’s small-scale gold mining.

He says organized ****** gangs ensnare miners by giving them funding for equipment upfront, unlike other lenders.

The mines’ remote locations also play a part.

“There’s less government there. There’s less government oversight. There’s less patrols. So the location of the mines is convenient for organized ****** groups.”

The dangers of galamsey extend beyond gangs.

At this wildcat mine, many wear no professional protective equipment.

Dozens of miners have been ******* in collapsing pits in recent years, according to news reports and rights groups.

Medical centers have reported high numbers of early deaths from pulmonary *********.

That’s in both miners – and those who live near mines.

Causes include inhaling dust that contains lead, or poisonous fumes from the mercury and nitric acid that miners use to leach gold out of sediment.

Mining has also led to some 65% of Ghana’s water sources being polluted, according to the water authority.

Monitoring platform Global Forest Watch says vast areas of cocoa plantations and ******* forest have been destroyed.

President ***** Akufo-Addo came to power in 2017 with pledges to take action on the issue.

He has since launched crackdowns and arrested ******** miners.

But in recent weeks, protesters have taken to the streets in Accra, accusing the government of failing to tackle the problem.

“All our water bodies have been polluted, for how long do you have to sit and be looking at all these politicians doing us like this. No, we can’t. They say water is life, when water is life and our water bodies has been polluted, how can we live long? So what we are saying is that, stop galamsey because we want to live long.”

Opinion polls show galamsey is a top issue for voters ahead of the country’s December 7 general election.

Successive governments have been promising for years to tackle the problem without making much headway.

Industry experts say, it’s partly because powerful people are benefiting from the industry.

That includes some politicians and traditional rulers taking a cut from galamsey profits.

Ghana’s information minister did not respond to requests for comments on the organized ****** and *********** allegations.

In the meantime, men like this miner will continue in the muddy business.

Having come from nothing, to making thousands of dollars through galamsey, he says, he’s now also brought friends in to dig for the precious ore.



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#Ghanas #wildcat #gold #mining #booms #poisoning #people #nature

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