In Ghana’s Hinterlands, a Quest for Gold, with Lives on the Line

Gold mining puts money in the pockets of thousands in Ghana’s countryside. It also kills. Pit collapses claim the lives of the miners who delve deep into small-scale mines in search of bullion. But in Ghana’s poor, underdeveloped villages, people say there are few other ways to make money.
The rivers in Ghana’s Ashanti region run a sickly brown. The land is pockmarked with gashes carved into the earth by excavators, the air filled with the sound of mining equipment.
Small-scale mines are a common sight in Ghana’s gold-rich middle belt, where miners drop deep into the earth in search of bullion. They don’t always come back.
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