Ghana: Licensing and regulatory authorities must bear the blame

Despite the disparities in knowledge of the distinction between small scale mining and illegal mining, small scale mining has become synonymous with ‘galamsey’ (artisanal gold mining in Ghana) due to the way they both go about with their work.  ‘Galamsey’ is the term used to describe the aspect of mining that is not licensed, regulated or supervised by any authority in Ghana.
This study which was conducted in the Denkyira, Nsutam and Osino townships where there are heavy presences of small scale miners.
A scan through the communities and the environments of these areas, showed that the Offin and Birem rivers, the main sources of water for household chores and other activities by the inhabitants, which flow through the areas, are heavily polluted through the activities of both small scale and galamsey gold miners. Some mining sites have also turned into ‘deserts’ as the vegetation cover in those areas has been removed.
http://www.spyghana.com/licensing-regulatory-authorities-must-bear-blame/