Illegal mining in Ghana

Illegal mining operations are destroying the farmlands, forests, and water bodies in Ghana. The general public and academia are calling for a concerted effort to rid the country of illegal mining activities and to restore the abandoned mining sites across the country.

However, in order to formulate and implement measures to effectively address the problem, there is a need to understand the scale, the scope, and the locational and operational attributes of illegal mining.  Moreover, illegal mining takes place in local contexts and impacts livelihoods. It is therefore important to understand the attitude of local people to illegal mining activities and to government policy interventions thus far to curtail the menace. To this end, the IGC commissioned a number of studies on illegal mining activities in Ghana.

This event, which took place on 21 February, aimed to share the findings with policymakers, chiefs and opinion leaders, and the general public. It also informed the ongoing discussions about the detrimental effects of illegal mining and how to address them.