Feature by Stephen Asante
Sub-Saharan Africa has for some time been inundated with aggravated activities in illegal Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM).
Researchers attribute the development to lapses in the enforcement of regulations, persistent poverty, unemployment, and rising commodity prices. It is also a reaction to the perception of the low contribution of major foreign mining interests to community and national development.
The devastating effects of ASM are becoming visible in many communities across the sub-region, and Ghana is no exception to this menace, which is referred to in local parlance as ‘galamsey’.
The scale of the problem today
Recent data shows the problem remains widespread and costly. Between January and November 2025, Ghana’s security agencies arrested 1,486 people in anti-galamsey operations and seized 443 excavators, 11 bulldozers, 86 pump action guns, and 1,200 water pumping machines.
The environmental toll is severe. Forestry Commission of Ghana survey found that illegal mining in forest reserves increased to 8,923.8 hectares by December 2024, up from 3,670.9 hectares in 2021. The Ashanti Region was hardest hit with 4,948.9 hectares, followed by Western North with 2,195.7 hectares. In 2024 alone, an estimated 30,000 hectares of cocoa and food farms were destroyed nationwide.
Across West Africa, the issue is regional. Interpol’s Operation Sanu, conducted between June and October 2024 in Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, and Senegal, resulted in 200 arrests and the seizure of 150kg of cyanide, 14 cylinders of mercury valued at over $100,000, and nearly 7,000 explosive devices.
Rising gold prices have intensified the pressure. With gold above $3,300 per ounce in 2025, mining companies report increased intrusions by “wildcat” miners. Almost 20 illicit miners have been killed in confrontations at major mining operations across the region since late 2024.
From the Gold Coast to galamsey
Illegal mining is not new to West Africa. The region’s gold trade dates to the medieval period, when trans-Saharan caravans moved gold from empires like Ghana, Mali, and Songhai to North Africa and beyond. The abundance of gold earned Ghana the colonial name “Gold Coast.”
Before colonial rule, mining was managed by chiefs and kings under customary systems. Miners typically retained one-third of gold, with the rest going to local and paramount chiefs.
During British colonial rule, mining became mechanized and structured, with foreign companies establishing formal operations in areas like Obuasi and Tarkwa. After independence in 1957, Ghana maintained mining as a key economic pillar but also saw informal mining expand due to poverty, unemployment, and fluctuating gold prices.
The term “galamsey” itself comes from “gather them and sell,” describing how local miners traditionally panned and sold gold. The practice shifted significantly after 2008, when a surge in global gold prices brought in thousands of foreign miners, particularly from China, who introduced excavators and chemicals like mercury and cyanide on an industrial scale.
A shift toward education and prevention
Amid the ecological and social damage, Ghanaian geoscientist Raymond Kudzawu-D’Pherdd is leading a project to change the narrative.
Appointed as Ghana’s Representative for Geoscience Education by the International Union of Geological Sciences Commission on Geoscience Education (IUGS-COGE), he argues that long-term change must start with education.
“By starting at the foundational level of education and building a geoscientifically literate society, Ghana can transform its relationship with mining,” he said in a document shared with GNA.
His initiative, ‘A 50-Year Vision for Change’, proposes integrating geoscience education into every level of the Ghanaian curriculum, from nursery to tertiary. The goal is to equip Ghanaians with knowledge of geology, mining, and sustainable resource management, reducing reliance on destructive practices like random site hopping.
“It will ensure that every Ghanaian, regardless of one’s eventual profession, possesses a basic understanding of geology, mining, and sustainable resource management,” he explained.
The project also seeks to empower informal miners with basic geoscience knowledge to adopt safer methods, and to create grassroots accountability for reporting illegal practices.
Mr. Kudzawu-D’Pherdd brings two decades of experience in sustainable mining across Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Nigeria. He has developed two accredited programmes at the University of Energy and Natural Resources: BSc Urban Mining and BSc Development Minerals Mining.
His appointment followed a presentation on “Transferring the Space Mining Legacy – Teaching the Next Generation about Contemporary Space Mining Concepts” in Austria, announced in the IUGS E-Bulletin No. 212 – December 2024.
As Ghana continues to battle galamsey, his approach reflects a growing recognition that enforcement alone has not solved the crisis. With over 8,900 hectares of forest reserves lost to illegal mining as of 2024, the push is now toward building a society that values long-term sustainability over short-term gain.
