UNDERSTANDING GALAMSEY (ILLEGAL MINING) IN GHANA

Artisanal Small-scale mining (ASM), popularly known as ‘galamsey’ in the mineral-rich country of Ghana, is a fast-growing phenomenon that is present in several other countries with underground mineral resources. Coined from the English phrase, “gather and sell”, galamsey has become a subject of great concern for governmental agencies, the private sector, local community leaders, as well as citizens in general. In search of precious minerals, especially alluvial gold and diamond, which abounds in several regions of the Ghana. In the simplest of terms, this small-scale mining of gold involves teasing gold from the earth by washing it out of the soils and gravels where it is found (Norgah, 2013). Thus, gold is extracted from the alluvial deposits along rivers, waterways and terrestrial soils (Donkor, Nartey, Bonzongo, & Adotey, (2006)...