Researcher and project partner: Melani Mennella
Ghana is the largest gold producer on the African continent. However, for most resource-rich countries in Africa, this is a double-edged sword, often tied to capitalist
neo-colonialism. The majority of Ghana's gold wealth is owned by foreign companies, and the agreements between global corporations and the government are kept confidential. The registered income from gold is $5 billion annually, while unregistered income from smuggling is almost double.
Smuggled gold mainly comes from galamsey operations, where workers receive only $1 a day, and children work for free. Ghana's gold finds its way to countries such as the USA, Canada, China, India, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. Once it leaves illegal mines, pervasive corruption makes it impossible to trace its origin, so it quickly enters the legal market. It ends up in banks, jewelry shops, and companies manufacturing expensive branded electronic devices destined for highly developed countries.
Almost one-third of Ghana's gold is illegally mined in operations called "galamsey" (meaning "find and sell"). Over 3 million people (10% of the country's population) make a living from galamsey, with approximately 1 million people directly involved in mining. In the pursuit of gold that goes to the world's wealthiest nations, the natural environment is irreversibly destroyed, forests are cut down, and rivers are poisoned.
Due to internal labor migration related to gold mining, agricultural production and many local industries essential for the country's proper functioning also decline.
Partly funded by Arts Council of Northern Ireland & The National Lottery
Illegal gold mine workers in a small village in central Ghana have completely abandoned farming and other forms of production. Everything now revolves around illegal gold mines, with every resident relying on galamsey for their livelihood.
Galamsey workers at the bottom of around 200 meters deep unsupported shaft.
Family members wash loads of earth at the base of an illegal small-scale mining site. The land is cleared by rented excavators that dig deep pits to expose the gold veins. Rainwater collected in shallow pools is pumped through a network of hoses to strategically placed washing stations. A management hierarchy, led by a chairman, oversees more than 75 workers, each with defined responsibilities.
A small amount of gold was extracted by a teenager who spent a full day's work in illegal mining operations. The gold is separated from crushed rocks using mercury to form an amalgam, which is then heated to evaporate the mercury and purify the gold.
Female galamsey worker at the mine site with her 3 children. She is working here carrying load of 70-80kg for 6-8 hrs everyday for around $1 to $3 per day.
5 years old boy at the illegal gold mine.
He is working many hours almost every day with his mum and 3 other siblings. Ghanaian children suffer the traumatic exploits of ASGM (artisanal small scale gold mining).
The International Labour Organization identifies the mining industry as “extremely hazardous,” and for children, the impacts are detrimental on their physiological and social health and development.
ASGM principally engages children who are paid minimally or not paid at all. ASGM is a labor extensive method which exposes children to violent explosions, rock fall, tunnel collapse and environmental contamination. Children perform low-skilled, dangerous tasks such as, shoveling, crushing, carrying and washing ore, amalgamating ore with mercury and burning the amalgam.
He is working many hours almost every day with his mum and 3 other siblings. Ghanaian children suffer the traumatic exploits of ASGM (artisanal small scale gold mining).
The International Labour Organization identifies the mining industry as “extremely hazardous,” and for children, the impacts are detrimental on their physiological and social health and development.
ASGM principally engages children who are paid minimally or not paid at all. ASGM is a labor extensive method which exposes children to violent explosions, rock fall, tunnel collapse and environmental contamination. Children perform low-skilled, dangerous tasks such as, shoveling, crushing, carrying and washing ore, amalgamating ore with mercury and burning the amalgam.
After a long day working in the extreme heat, a gold mine worker takes a bath in a muddy puddle filled with waste from gold washing stations located deep in the bush.
Gold buyer at the small village surrounded by tens of galamsey sites.
Once gold leaves illegal mines, pervasive corruption makes it impossible to trace its origin, so it quickly enters the legal market. It ends up in banks, jewellery shops, and companies manufacturing expensive branded electronic devices destined for highly developed countries.
Once gold leaves illegal mines, pervasive corruption makes it impossible to trace its origin, so it quickly enters the legal market. It ends up in banks, jewellery shops, and companies manufacturing expensive branded electronic devices destined for highly developed countries.
Plastic ring of the young boy standing in front of a gold buyer in the village surrounded by galamsey.
Street celebration after a youth council election in a village located at the largest commercial gold mine in Africa, owned by the global US corporation.
The election was won by one of the sons of the local village leader. The corporation's contracts with the Ghanaian government are kept secret, it is not known what quantities of gold leave the country and what percentage of the profit goes to the national budget. The corporation does not invest in local infrastructure and does not employ local people. To ensure community control, bribed chiefs and community leaders sit on the mine council, making it impossible to do anything to prevent the resettlement of local residents or stop pollution.
Contact with mine representatives is impossible, with corporation officials not responding to any emails or phone calls requesting a meeting and interview in the four years of working on the story.
The election was won by one of the sons of the local village leader. The corporation's contracts with the Ghanaian government are kept secret, it is not known what quantities of gold leave the country and what percentage of the profit goes to the national budget. The corporation does not invest in local infrastructure and does not employ local people. To ensure community control, bribed chiefs and community leaders sit on the mine council, making it impossible to do anything to prevent the resettlement of local residents or stop pollution.
Contact with mine representatives is impossible, with corporation officials not responding to any emails or phone calls requesting a meeting and interview in the four years of working on the story.
This is one of thousands of sites in central Ghana devastated by illegal mining. Massive deforestation and water poisoning in the rivers increase each year. Even cocoa farms, one of Ghana's most vital products, are being destroyed in the pursuit of gold.
