Toxic heavy metal leaching into soil and groundwater is another concern. Mercury is used in small-scale mining industries, because it is a cheap, efficient way to capture gold. But it poses significant health risks for processors, as well as those living and farming near and downstream from mining activities.
“If illegal miners continue to let loose heavy metals such as mercury into the environment and it’s absorbed by crops, Ghana faces the potential of its cocoa being boycotted on the international market,” said Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, minister of the Western Region, where most of Ghana’s cocoa is produced. “This must be addressed.”
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