Galamsey
{{Short description|Ghanaian term for illegal mining}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
Galamsey refers to illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana.{{cite web |last1=Oxford English Dictionary|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/8227893966 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=30 January 2025| title=OED definition}}{{Cite web|title=Mining of Gold in Ghana Overview – Energy and Natural Resources – Ghana|url=https://www.mondaq.com/mining/817190/mining-of-gold-in-ghana-overview|first= David Yaw|last= Danquah|date= 26 June 2019|access-date=15 May 2021|website=Monday.com}} The term is derived from the English phrase "gather them and sell".{{Cite journal|last1=Owusu-Nimo|first1=F.|last2=Mantey|first2=J.|last3=Nyarko|first3=K. B.|last4=Appiah-Effah|first4=Eugene|last5=Aubynn|first5=A.|date=1 February 2018|title=Spatial distribution patterns of illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining (Galamsey) operations in Ghana: A focus on the Western Region|journal=Heliyon|volume=4|issue=2|pages=e00534|doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00534|pmid=29511743 |pmc=5835009 |issn=2405-8440|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Heliy...400534O }} Historically, galamsey referred to traditional small-scale mining practices in Ghana, where local communities would gather and search for gold in rivers and streams. However, over time, the term has taken on a broader meaning, encompassing both legal and artisanal small-scale mining (ASM).{{Cite journal |last1=Mantey |first1=J. |last2=Owusu-Nimo |first2=F. |last3=Nyarko |first3=K. B. |last4=Aubynn |first4=A. |date=1 January 2017 |title=Operational dynamics of "Galamsey" within eleven selected districts of the western region of Ghana |url=http://jme.shahroodut.ac.ir/article_627.html |journal=Journal of Mining and Environment |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=11–34 |doi=10.22044/jme.2016.627 |issn=2251-8592}} In Ghana, those involved in these activities are called galamseyers, and in neighbouring Francophone countries such as Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, they are often referred to as orpailleurs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/orpailleur|title=Orpailleur: Définition de orpailleur|website=cnrtl.fr|access-date=20 August 2019}} Ghana's widespread illegal mining activities have caused extensive destruction to the gold-rich West African country's forests.{{Cite web |date=4 May 2023 |title=Illegal mining threatens Ghana forests |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/05/04/illegal-mining-threatens-ghana-forests// |access-date=19 October 2024 |website=Africanews}}{{Cite web |date=6 March 2018 |title=Ghana's Illegal Galamsey Gold Mining Affecting Cocoa Farmers, Chocolate Supply |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ghana-gold-mining-cocoa-environment |access-date=19 October 2024 |website=Science}}
Background
{{More citations needed|section|date=October 2024}}
Galamseyers dig small working pits, tunnels, and sluices by hand. Generally, they can dig only to a limited depth, far shallower and smaller than commercial gold mining companies. Under current Ghanaian law, it is illegal for galamseyers to dig on land granted to mining companies as concessions or licences. Most galamseyers either find gold in free metallic dust form or process oxide or sulfide gold ore using liquid mercury.{{Cite web |title=Galamsey: Ghana's illegal gold mining industry causes environmental destruction |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn9dn8xq92jo |access-date=1 November 2024 |website=bbc.com}}
The number of galamseyers in Ghana is unknown but believed to range between 20,000 and 50,000, including thousands from China.{{Cite web|url=https://africanarguments.org/2017/05/30/gold-guns-and-china-ghanas-fight-to-end-galamsey/|title=Gold, guns and China: Ghana's fight to end galamsey|date=30 May 2017|first= Edward|last=Burrows|author2=Lucia Bird|website=African Arguments|access-date=20 August 2019}} The minister of information, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, claimed in May 2017 that there are now 200,000 people engaged in galamsey, and according to other sources, there are nearly 3 million who rely on it for their livelihoods. They mostly operate in the southern part of Ghana, where there are substantial reserves of gold deposits, usually within the environs of the larger mining companies. Galamsey settlements are usually poorer than neighbouring agricultural villages. They have high rates of accidents and are exposed to mercury poisoning from their crude processing methods. Many women are among the workers, acting mostly as porters for the miners. In some cases, galamseyers are the first to discover and work extensive gold deposits before mining companies find out and take over.
Types of galamsey
| class="wikitable"
!Galamsey types !Key resource/material use !Water relation !Comments |
| rowspan="6" |
1. Alluvial |1. Washing plant |Washing plant/trommel, excavator, mercury, diesel, petrol, and lubricants |Operates near water bodies and requires a high volume of clean water for operation | rowspan="4" |Simultaneous mining and gold extraction |
| 2. Washing board
|Washing/sluice board, excavator, mercury, diesel, petrol, and lubricants |Operates near water bodies and requires a high volume of clean water for operation |
| 3. Pit dredging
|Pits, suction dredge, mercury, diesel, petrol, and lubricants |Operates within mini-pit lakes or mine-out pits and requires water |
| 4. Stream/river dredging
|River/stream, suction dredge, mercury, diesel, petrol, and lubricants |Within water bodies with adequate current |
| 5. Dig and wash
|rowspan=2|Pan, shovels, pickaxes, manual, sluice board, mercury |rowspan=2|In wetland areas, rivers/creeks/streams banks |rowspan=2| |
| 6. Panning (poole poole) |
| rowspan="2" |
2. Underground mining |7. Abandoned underground shafts/tunnels |Shaft, blasting, dewatering, load, and haul of ore |rowspan=2|Underground/landlocked areas | rowspan="2" |Mining only |
| 8. Sample hole/pit, or "ghetto"
|Manually dug-out pit, blasting, dewatering, mining |
| 3. Millhouse
| 9. Mill-house operation |Diesel engine (Changfa), crusher, smoothing machine, retort, mercury, hydrocarbons |Landlocked areas; near the roadside, within urban centers, or near mining sites |Processing only |
| 4. Surface operation
|10. Surface |Diesel engine, mercury, retort, petrol, and lubricants |Landlocked areas; either near or far from water bodies, but requires water for operation |Simultaneous mining and gold extraction |
| 5. Selection ("pilfering mining")
|11. Selection (normally from large-scale or licit ASM sites) |Manual selection, diesel engine, millhouse, mortar and pestle/sluice board |Landlocked areas; either near or far from water bodies, but requires water for operation |Mining only |
Motives
The main motive behind people engaging in galamsey are youth unemployment and lack of job security.{{Cite web|url=https://yen.com.gh/104844-causes-effects-galamsey-ghana.html|title=Causes and effects of galamsey in Ghana|last=Gracia|first=Zindzy|date=31 January 2018|website=Yen.com.gh – Ghana news|access-date=11 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Galamsey-menace-Causes-effects-and-solutions-538404|title=Galamsey menace: Causes, effects, and solutions|first=Kelly Michael |last=Agbesi|website=ghanaweb.com|date= 17 May 2017|access-date=20 February 2020}} Young university graduates rarely find work, and when they do, it hardly sustains them. The result is that these youth go the extra mile to earn a living for themselves and their families.{{Cite journal |last1=Kpienbaareh |first1=Daniel |last2=Kansanga |first2=Moses Mosonsieyiri |last3=Konkor |first3=Irenius |last4=Luginaah |first4=Isaac |date=7 August 2020 |title=The Rise of the Fourth Estate: The Media, Environmental Policy, and the Fight against Illegal Mining in Ghana |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2020.1799050 |journal=Environmental Communication |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=69–84 |doi=10.1080/17524032.2020.1799050 |issn=1752-4032|url-access=subscription }}
The causes of illegal gold mining include bureaucratic licensing regimes, weak legal frameworks, political and traditional leadership failures, and corrupt officials. Socioeconomic factors and the proliferation of foreign miners and mining equipment further compound the issue.{{Cite journal |last1=Ampaw |first1=Enock Mintah |last2=Chai |first2=Junwu |last3=Jiang |first3=Yuguo |last4=Dumor |first4=Koffi |last5=Edem |first5=Amouzou Koffi |date=June 2023 |title=Why is Ghana losing the war against illegal gold mining (Galamsey)? An artificial neural network-based investigations |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37195613/ |journal=Environmental Science and Pollution Research International |volume=30 |issue=29 |pages=73730–73752 |doi=10.1007/s11356-023-27265-x |issn=1614-7499 |pmid=37195613|bibcode=2023ESPR...3073730A }}
Dangers
On 13 November 2009, a collapse occurred in an illegal, privately owned mine in Dompoase, located in the Ashanti Region. The incident claimed the lives of at least 18 workers, including 13 women, who served as porters for the miners. Officials described the disaster as the worst mine collapse in Ghana at the time.{{cite news | title=Women die in Ghana mine collapse |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8356343.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=12 November 2009 |accessdate= 12 November 2009}} In April 2013, a collapse occurred in the Central Region, killing at least 17 miners.{{Cite journal |last1=Suleman |first1=H. A. |last2=Baffoe |first2=P. E. |date=30 June 2017 |title=Selecting Suitable Sites for Mine Waste Dumps Using GIS Techniques at Goldfields, Damang Mine |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gm.v17i1.2 |journal=Ghana Mining Journal |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=9–17 |doi=10.4314/gm.v17i1.2 |issn=0855-210X}} However, the 2022 Bogoso explosion, linked to the transportation of mining explosives, became the most devastating mining-related disaster in the nation's history, resulting in at least 13 deaths and over 180 injuries.{{cite news |date=21 January 2022 |title=Ghana blast: Many feared dead after huge explosion near Bogoso |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60074511 |accessdate=3 October 2022 |publisher=BBC News}}
On 23 February 2025, journalist Akwasi Agyei Annim was attacked while documenting illegal mining in the Breman-Adomanya forest in Wassa Amenfi West. Despite police awareness, Chinese and Ghanaian miners have encroached on 261 acres, causing environmental destruction and polluting the Tano River.{{Cite web |title=Illegal gold miners invade Breman-Adomanya Forest, attack Citi News' Journalist Akwasi Agyei – MyJoyOnline |url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/illegal-gold-miners-invade-breman-adomanya-forest-attack-citi-news-journalist-akwasi-agyei/ |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=myjoyonline.com}}
Environmental impact
Illegal mining damages the land as well as water supply.{{Cite web |date=15 October 2024 |title=Illegal mining abound, ghost towns await – MyJoyOnline |url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/illegal-mining-abound-ghost-towns-await/ |access-date=19 October 2024 |website=myjoyonline.com}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.leakxgh.com/2017/05/galamsey-pollution-destroying-water.html|title=Galamsey, pollution destroying water bodies in Ghana – Water Company|last=Ansah|first=Marian Efe|date=22 March 2017|website=Ghana News|access-date=7 May 2017}} Galamsey activities have depleted Ghana's forest cover and caused water pollution, due to the crude and unregulated nature of the mining process.{{Cite news|url=http://www.gbcghana.com/1.11923484|title=MD of Ghana Water Company Limited says fight against galamsey is being lost|last=Gyekye|first=Joyce|work=Ghana Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=22 May 2018}}{{Cite web |date=17 May 2017 |title=Galamsey menace: Causes, effects and solutions |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Galamsey-menace-Causes-effects-and-solutions-538404 |access-date=2 August 2023 |website=GhanaWeb}} In March 2017, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, gave galamseyers a three-week ultimatum to stop their activities or be prepared to face the law.{{Cite web|last=Allotey |first=Godwin Akweiteh |title=Stop galamsey in 3 weeks or face the law – Amewu |date=29 March 2017 |url=http://citifmonline.com/2017/03/29/stop-galamsey-in-3-weeks-or-face-the-law-amewu/ |website=Ghana News |access-date=7 May 2017}}
Human impact
Illegal mining has short-and long-term detrimental impacts on human health. Exposure to poisonous chemicals can lead to various cancers, mercury poisoning, silica-induced pneumoconiosis, and other respiratory conditions. In addition, stagnant water in abandoned mining pits serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which can be vectors for various diseases.{{Cite web |last=Etefe |first=Juliet |date=8 May 2023 |title=Time for action – galamsey is having serious effects on our environment, and communities |url=https://thebftonline.com/2023/05/08/time-for-action-galamsey-is-having-serious-effects-on-our-environment-and-communities/ |access-date=2 August 2023 |website=The Business & Financial Times}}
Stop Galamsey Now protest
On 21 September 2024, a local organization called Democracy Hub launched a protest aimed at pressuring the government of Ghana to enforce measures to stop galamsey.{{Cite web |date=21 September 2024 |title=Three-day street protest against galamsey: when will the Catholic Church join the fight? |url=https://catholic-trends.com/2024/09/21/three-day-street-protest-against-galamsey-when-will-the-catholic-church-join-the-fight/ |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=Catholic Trends}} The action lasted three days, with protesters demanding a direct and decisive intervention from President Nana Akufo-Addo, in the form of a presidential order to stop all illegal mining activities, particularly in forest reserves and along key rivers,{{Cite web |last=Moro |first=Salifu Bagulube |date=21 September 2024 |title="End Galamsey now": Ghanaians hit the streets to protest against illegal mining |url=https://yen.com.gh/politics/267271-ghanaians-pour-streets-protest-illegal-mining/ |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=Yen.com.gh}} such as the Pra, Ankobra, and Birim, which have all been polluted with harmful chemicals like mercury and cyanide.{{Cite web |last=Mensah |first=Kent |date=17 September 2024 |title=Dying rivers, dying hopes: Human cost of illegal mining devastating Ghana's future |url=https://www.theafricareport.com/361673/dying-rivers-dying-hopes-human-cost-of-illegal-mining-devastating-ghanas-future/#:~:text=Galamsey%2C%20once%20a%20small%2Dscale,chemicals%20like%20mercury%20and%20cyanide. |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=The Africa Report}} As of September 2024, 60% of Ghana's water bodies had suffered pollution due to galamsey.{{Cite web |date=12 August 2021 |title=60% of Ghana Water Bodies Polluted by Galamsey |url=https://dailyguidenetwork.com/60-of-ghana-water-bodies-polluted-by-galamsey/ |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=DailyGuide Network}} The illegal practice has also led to forest degradation,{{Cite web |title=Illegal small-scale mining threatens Ghana's forest reserves |url=https://www.voaafrica.com/a/illegal-small-scale-mining-threatens-ghana-s-forest-reserves/7619710.html |access-date=6 October 2024 |website=voaafrica.com}} encouraged by the passage of Legislative Instrument L.I 2462 in 2022, which permitted mining in forest reserves.{{Cite web |date=12 September 2024 |title=Galamsey: LI 2462 one of Ghana's backward legislations ever – Mine workers union |url=https://citinewsroom.com/2024/09/galamsey-li-2462-one-of-ghanas-backward-legislations-ever-mine-workers-union/ |access-date=6 October 2024}}
The protests led to a total of 53 arrests,{{Cite web |date=22 September 2024 |title=Day two of 'Say No to Galamsey demo ends with dozens arrested – MyJoyOnline |url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/day-two-of-say-no-to-galamsey-demo-ends-with-dozens-arrested/ |access-date=26 September 2024 |website=myjoyonline.com}} including a 62-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl.{{Cite web |date=22 September 2024 |title=Scores of people arrested as scuffle ensues between Democracy Hub protesters and police – MyJoyOnline |url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/scores-of-people-arrested-as-scuffle-ensues-between-democracy-hub-protesters-and-police/ |access-date=26 September 2024 |website=myjoyonline.com}}{{Cite web |last=Eghan |first=Sammy Danso |date=22 September 2024 |title=Ghana Police arrest 62-year-old and 10-year-old protesters in anti-galamsey demo |url=https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/ghana-police-arrest-62-year-old-and-10-year-old-protesters-in-anti-galamsey-demo/32t0n7d |access-date=26 September 2024 |website=Pulse Ghana}}
=Reactions=
In September 2024, China's ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, condemned illegal mining in the country and warned Chinese citizens that the embassy will not assist those caught breaking the law.{{Cite web |last=Olander |first=Eric |date=19 September 2024 |title=[WEEK IN REVIEW] Illegal Chinese Miners in Ghana Have Been Warned |url=https://chinaglobalsouth.com/podcasts/week-in-review-illegal-chinese-miners-in-ghana-have-been-warned/ |access-date=29 October 2024 |website=The China-Global South Project}}{{Cite web |last=GTonline |date=16 September 2024 |title=Combatting illegal mining: Stay away from galamsey!! ...Chinese Ambassador admonishes compatriots |url=https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/combatting-illegal-mining-stay-away-from-galamsey-chinese-ambassador-admonishes-compatriots/ |access-date=29 October 2024 |website=Ghanaian Times}} He stressed that China and Ghana both have the authority to enforce their laws on each other's citizens if they engage in illegal activities.{{Cite web |last=GhanaWeb |date=15 September 2024 |title=Punish Chinese illegal miners caught abusing Ghanaian laws – Chinese Ambassador Tong Defa |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Punish-Chinese-illegal-miners-caught-abusing-Ghanaian-laws-Chinese-Ambassador-Tong-Defa-1950797}}
See also
- Operation Vanguard – military police joint task force against illegal mining in Ghana
- Crime in Ghana
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071023040126/http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjQyMzg "Mining in Ghana – Golden future for the galamsey"], World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Archived from the original.
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12923638/ Galamsey – For a Fistful of Gold] (short film, 2017)
- [http://www.moneystonefilm.com The Money Stone] (documentary film, 2019)