MINING REFINING

Hundreds march against Ghana’s informal gold mining boom

Sat Oct 12 2024

Hundreds of people marched through Ghana’s capital Accra on Friday in a peaceful protest against unlicensed gold mining, calling on authorities to act against the dangerous and environmentally damaging practice.

Illegal small-scale gold mining known “galamsey” in Ghana has picked up this year following an almost 30% rise in global gold prices.

Small-scale mines produced 1.2 million ounces of gold in the first seven months of this year, more than in the whole of 2023, according to data from Ghana’s mining sector regulator.

But the boom in a practice that harms miners’ health, pollutes waterways, destroys forests and cocoa farms, and fuels crime has spurred calls and protests to clamp down. It has also become a hot button electoral issue as Ghana heads to the polls on Dec. 7 for a general election.

Hundreds took part in an “environmental prayer walk” against galamsey on Friday that involved handing a petition for a ban on informal mining to the president’s office.

The march followed plans by labor unions for a nationwide strike against galamsey this week that were partially called off after the government made promising provisions, according to local media reports citing the organizers.

Source: https://www.sabcnews.com/