Ghana’s illegal gold mining industry causes environmental destruction

The water in Ghana’s polluted rivers is so dark and discolored that an artist has been able to use it to paint the environmental destruction caused by illegal gold mining that has spread like wildfire in the resource-rich West African country.

Mercury is increasingly being used by miners to extract gold from forests and farms on a large scale, degrading land and polluting rivers to the extent that the charity WaterAid calls it “ecocide”.

Israel Derrick Apeti, better known as Enil Art, told the BBC: “You could actually paint with water. It was so bad.”

He and his friend Jay Sterling visited the Pra River, about 200 kilometers west of the capital Accra, and pointed out the environmental disaster being unleashed by “galamsey.”

It’s a term used by locals to describe illegal mining taking place in thousands of areas across the country, including forest areas known for cocoa plantations and vast gold deposits.

The West African country is the world’s sixth-largest gold exporter and the second-largest cocoa exporter.

Protesters took to the streets of Accra recently to demand that the government take action to stop illegal mining. Police responded by detaining dozens of protesters on suspicion of holding an illegal assembly. They were later released as outrage over their arrests grew.

The hashtags #stopgalamseynow and #freethecitizens were used to galvanize young people in Ghana and the diaspora, especially Canada and the UK, to voice their concerns.

Apeti told the BBC she decided to contribute to the campaign through art.

“What is art for?” He added: “On the way to the river it occurred to me that I could paint with the polluted water. That’s what I thought. So I went there and tried it and it worked.”

Communities along the river, one of Ghana’s largest rivers, lamented to Afeti that the water “was once so clean you could see the fish and crocodiles living there.” But now, he said, “it’s turned into a tan body.” water”.

Ghanaian music stars also contributed to the campaign.

Black Sherif, who hails from the village of Konongo in the Ashanti region, which has been severely affected by illegal mining, stopped his set at The Tidal Rave Concert in Accra earlier this month to display a destructive video. showed.

Truth Ofori, who was part of the Black Sherif set, sang the patriotic song “This is our home”, while Stonebowy used his own set to perform “Greedy Men”, which was aimed at the people behind the galamsey.

This devastation has occurred because the nature of illegal mining has changed. Previously, young unemployed people dug for gold with pickaxes and shovels, or with their bare hands.

They also relied on panning (washing sediment through a sieve to allow the gold to settle to the bottom).

But Chinese businessmen who first immigrated to Ghana about 18 years ago have made the country more sophisticated in its industries.

They have been accused of ignoring environmental issues and taking to heart the old adage, “There is no land in Ghana without gold, not even in the topsoil. Ghana is gold.”

In fact, during colonial times the country was known as the Gold Coast.

Some local businessmen and politicians are widely suspected of participating in what has been called a “crazy gold rush”, buying up cocoa farms and turning them into illegal mining sites.

They were also accused of threatening farmers and eventually forcing them to give up their land if they refused to sell by digging sidewalks.

About 4,726 hectares of land – larger than the size of European cities such as Athens and Brussels – have been destroyed in seven of Ghana’s 16 regions and 34 of its 288 forest reserves, the head of Ghana’s Forestry Commission has said. John Allotey said in August:.

Agricultural development consultant Dr John Manful told the BBC that “precious, valuable land” in the woodlands had been destroyed by gold seekers.

“Illegal small-scale mining has been practiced in Ghana for decades, but in recent years it has become uncontrollable, with disastrous consequences,” he said.

The mine felled trees and removed extensive forest vegetation. An excavator is then used to dig up the topsoil and subsoil.

The soil is then deposited in a gold washing plant located on the river, and water is pumped out to wash the soil and crushed stone.

During the cleaning process, various chemicals are used, including mercury and cyanide, which help extract gold from the soil, polluting rivers large and small.

Dr. George Manful, a former senior official at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency, highlighted the dangers: “Mercury can remain in the water for up to 1,000 years. The water in these rivers is too cloudy to drink.”

He also pointed out in an interview with local broadcaster Joy FM that mercury can affect the entire food chain as it can accumulate in fish and enter crops irrigated with water.

Dr Manfull added: “We are slowly poisoning ourselves.”

WaterAid called on the government to take “immediate action to end ecological carnage”, while the state’s water agency warned that Ghana risks becoming a water importer by 2030 if illegal mining is not curbed.

In September, the government said 76 people, including 18 foreigners, had been convicted of illegal mining since August 2021, and more than 850 people had been indicted.

Illegal mining has also affected cocoa production, with the Ghana Cocoa Commission reporting in 2021 that more than 19,000 hectares of farmland had been destroyed in key cocoa-growing regions such as the Western and Ashanti regions.

Echoing the board’s concerns earlier this week, Chief Executive Joseph Boahen Aidoo said production of cocoa, a key ingredient in chocolate, had fallen.

“Yes, I did. [taken] “It’s a big blow to the industry,” he said. Ghana Chronicle news site.

Illegal mining has also affected other crops, with one rice farmer from the Ahafo region telling the BBC he can no longer use a nearby river for irrigation purposes.

“You have to build a whole plant that involves digging deep to find water, which is very expensive,” she said.

One farmer, who asked not to be identified, said he feared the crisis would continue if powerful figures behind illegal mining were not arrested and prosecuted.

“When you see the military making arrests in poor communities, it’s just a symbolic act that appears to be trying to maintain law and order. “The people who make the big money from it are in the office, not in the field,” she said.

The government did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

A gold rush was also triggered. Global prices of precious metals have risen to new heights.This is expected to continue to be the case in the future.

Therefore, illegal organizations in Ghana are increasing their production.

The gold is probably smuggled to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, China and India, where it is refined, mixed with legitimate gold and sold on international markets, said BBC business reporter Jewel Kiriungi. World Service Podcast Exploring the Topic.

As resource-rich Ghana faces its most serious economic crisis in recent memory, with worsening unemployment and rising costs of living, illegal industries are also booming.

As a result, many poor or unemployed people, especially in rural areas, were employed by illegal organizations or simply engaged in gold mining on their own, earning up to 2,000 cedis ($125; £96) per week. Average teacher salary.

Artist Apeti said that when he visited the Pra River, he heard from local residents that officials regularly conduct raids and destroy miners’ equipment.

“But that will not be enough to dissuade the quest for gold because they will return at night and start mining again,” he said.

As protests erupted in Accra to highlight the devastation, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo responded last week: Navy ship deployment order “All mining activities, legal or illegal, in and around these waters will cease immediately.”

But some senior members of the ruling National Party (NPP) said they did not expect a large-scale crackdown as many of their supporters in the coal mining region were linked to Galamsei and that the party was not at risk of losing votes in December’s general election.

Galamsei’s popularity is as follows: Survey conducted by WaterAid Communities involved in illegal mining in the Upper East region of Ghana, particularly Bongo and Bawku West regions.

More than 75% of those surveyed acknowledged that this practice harms the environment and water resources, but 97% saw it as a profitable source of income.

WaterAid added: “A surprising 79% reported that health problems such as chest pain were directly linked to illegal mining operations.”

When President Akufo-Addo first took office in 2017, He acknowledged the involvement of some security personnel, businessmen and politicians in the Galamsei incident..

He pledged not only to “stop this, reclaim the land and get the rivers working again” but also to help “every healthy young person involved in this activity find an alternative livelihood.”

With Akufo-Addo forced to resign at the end of his two terms, his critics say he has failed to deliver on his promises and that problems have worsened during his time in office, putting, as he put it in 2017, “our very survival at stake.” “Our people.”