On Ghana’s gold, “galamsey” miners and government action

Ghanaians are divided on galamsey (which makes it a juicy subject for journalists and radio talk shows here, like “divisive” issues elsewhere, such as immigration). It provides a lot of jobs in poor, rural areas where farming looks pretty silly when everyone else around town is digging up gold rather than yams. But unquestionably, it’s incredibly destructive to the country’s natural environment, poisoning rivers and lakes and leaving gaping pits across the landscape. And “small-scale” often doesn’t describe the sprawling, organized nature of some of these operations. Moreover, it is very dangerous: pits collapse on miners all the time, and miners often work with no protections whatsoever, standing barefoot as they pan for gold in pools of water. There are also a number of Chinese nationals working illegally after, in many cases, arriving illegally, as well – a fact that really riles up Ghanaians. And clashes between armed Chinese worker and Ghanaian villages are common, as are fights between galamsey miners and security forces. The whole situation is a mess, in other words.
http://speakjhr.com/2013/05/on-ghanas-gold-galamsey-miners-and-government-action/