Officials in Ghana have shut down an illegal mining site operating roughly thirty feet from a public highway, according to AdomOnline.
The mine was in the Ahafo region in central Ghana, where mining companies and illegal miners extract resources near farms, towns, and rivers. The country's National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) said it "arrested several individuals," per AdomOnline.
Galamsey is the widely used term for illegal small-scale mining in West Africa. It almost always refers to illicit gold mining. Authorities found excavation pits and makeshift mining structures positioned dangerously close to the road, reported GhanaWeb.
In many of West Africa's mining districts, unregulated mining has led to deforestation, soil erosion, open extraction pits that destabilize farmland, and the contamination of rivers used for drinking, fishing, and irrigation.
Ghana is Africa's second-largest gold producer, yet communities near mining zones often report limited local economic benefit from mineral wealth, contributing to reliance on informal mining despite its environmental risks.
Raids frequently expose tensions between communities and environmental regulation. Researchers cite limited alternative livelihoods, irregular enforcement, and political interference as key factors behind the persistence of illegal mining.
Following the arrests, locals reportedly gathered at a nearby police station demanding the release of arrested miners and seized equipment, reflecting how the activity props up local economies, per AdomOnline. Successive Ghanaian governments have launched anti-galamsey campaigns, but mines often re-emerge after raids.
Worse, the sites often cause health risks. Plants have been shown to spread mercury contamination, a metal that harms brain and nerve function. It can cause learning difficulties in young children and reproductive harm or even cardiac arrest in adults.
The bust near the highway in Ahafo reflects the broader challenge facing Ghana, of protecting forests, rivers, and farmland while addressing the economic realities of communities that depend on unregulated industries to survive.
Without broader reforms — including livelihood programs, land-use planning, and stronger local governance — observers warn that sporadic raids alone are unlikely to resolve the pressures driving galamsey.
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