Galamsey, the illegal, unregulated, unstructured, unmonitored, uncontrolled, and unchecked small-scale mining principally of gold ore, involves the use of heavy metals such as mercury, among others, to extract gold from the dug-out ore. The chief worry in the use of mercury and other heavy metals is their inability to biodegrade. Thus, they are incapable of decomposing naturally by the action of bacteria and remain in their dangerous state even long after use during the galamsey process. | |
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Galamsey-A-threat-Ghana-must-abolish-1770887 | Since galamsey involves the use of water with mercury and other heavy metals to isolate the gold, the mercury-impregnated water is released into small waterways and eventually, the major rivers that flow downstream to the coastal belt and into the sea. Due to the pollution by galamsey, the colour of the water of the rivers has turned from clear, translucent to red; red rivers. |
Being the main source of drinking water for human populations living downstream, these mercury-polluted rivers play a big role in the food chain. |
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