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Shootings and burning excavators: Some rapid reflections on the Government of Ghana's handling of the informal Galamsey mining ‘menace’

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  • Hilson, Gavin

Abstract

This paper reflects critically on recent actions taken by the Government of Ghana to eliminate unlicensed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) – popularly referred to as ‘galamsey’ – in the country. At a time when donors and other governments in sub-Saharan Africa are working diligently to identify ways to formalize ASM and to integrate the sector into broader economic and rural development frameworks, the Government of Ghana has turned to its military and police to combat illegal activity, at times describing its efforts as a ‘fight’ and the phenomenon itself as ‘a menace’. The decision of the government has come as a surprise, given that ASM accounts for more than 30 percent of the country's gold production, and employs close to one million people directly nationwide and generates millions of more jobs in the upstream and downstream industries it spawns.

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  • Hilson, Gavin, 2017. "Shootings and burning excavators: Some rapid reflections on the Government of Ghana's handling of the informal Galamsey mining ‘menace’," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 109-116.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:54:y:2017:i:c:p:109-116
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2017.09.009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Banchirigah, Sadia Mohammed, 2008. "Challenges with eradicating illegal mining in Ghana: A perspective from the grassroots," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 29-38, March.
    2. Mining Unit, Industry and Energy Division, 1992. "Strategy for African Mining," Papers 181, World Bank - Technical Papers.
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    Cited by:

    1. Blair Rutherford, 2020. "The Moral Politics of Gendered Labour in Artisanal Mining in Sierra Leone," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(3), pages 771-793, May.
    2. Osei, Lydia & Yeboah, Thomas & Kumi, Emmanuel & Antoh, Ernestina Fredua, 2021. "Government's ban on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, youth livelihoods and imagined futures in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Bansah, K.J., 2019. "From diurnal to nocturnal: Surviving in a chaotic artisanal and small-scale mining sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Issah Baddianaah & Bernard Nuoleyeng Baatuuwie & Raymond Adongo, 2023. "Local perspectives on the adverse environmental effects and reclamation of illegally mined degraded landscapes in North-western Ghana," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 36(1), pages 139-155, January.
    5. Mabe, Franklin N. & Owusu-Sekyere, Ebenezer & Adeosun, Oluyemi Theophilus, 2021. "Livelihood coping strategies among displaced small scale miners in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    6. Ofosu, George & Sarpong, David, 2022. "Beyond the doom: Sustainable water management practices of small-scale mining operations," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. Kumah, Richard, 2022. "Artisanal and small-scale mining formalization challenges in Ghana: Explaining grassroots perspectives," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Rejoice Selorm Wireko-Gyebi & Michael Osei Asibey & Owusu Amponsah & Rudith Sylvana King & Imoro Braimah & Godfred Darko & Anne Mette Lykke, 2020. "Perception of Small-Scale Miners on Interventions to Eradicate Illegal Small-Scale Mining in Ghana," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, October.
    9. Sippl, Kristin, 2020. "Southern Responses to Fair Trade Gold: Cooperation, Complaint, Competition, Supplementation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Hilson, Gavin, 2020. "The ‘Zambia Model’: A blueprint for formalizing artisanal and small-scale mining in sub-Saharan Africa?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. Issaka Kanton Osumanu, 2020. "Small-scale Mining and Livelihood Dynamics in North-eastern Ghana: Sustaining Rural Livelihoods in a Changing Environment," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 20(3), pages 208-222, July.
    12. Bester, Vidette, 2022. "A corporate social responsibility conceptual framework to address artisanal gold mining in South Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Adu-Baffour, Ferdinand & Daum, Thomas & Birner, Regina, 2021. "Governance challenges of small-scale gold mining in Ghana: Insights from a process net-map study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    14. Van Bockstael, Steven, 2019. "Land grabbing “from below”? Illicit artisanal gold mining and access to land in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 904-914.
    15. Zolnikov, Tara Rava, 2020. "Effects of the government's ban in Ghana on women in artisanal and small-scale gold mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Fernando Morante-Carballo & Néstor Montalván-Burbano & Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar & Paúl Carrión-Mero, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Research on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-29, July.
    17. Grant, J. Andrew & Wilhelm, Cindy, 2022. "A flash in the pan? Agential constructivist perspectives on local content, governance, and the large-scale mining–artisanal and small-scale mining interface in West Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    18. Stemn, Eric & Amoh, Prince Oppong & Joe-Asare, Theophilus, 2021. "Analysis of artisanal and small-scale gold mining accidents and fatalities in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Adator, Stephanie Worlanyo & Wu, Qiaosheng & Lambongang, Munkaila & Otoo, Samuel Leumas & Bosah, Chukwunonso Philip & Nimako, Kwaku Ohene, 2023. "Farmers' perception of the impact of gold mining on shrinking agricultural land and their livelihood in the Asutifi-North District," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Hilson, Gavin & Van Bockstael, Steven & Sauerwein, Titus & Hilson, Abigail & McQuilken, James, 2021. "Artisanal and small-scale mining, and COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: A preliminary analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    21. Eduful, Michael & Alsharif, Kamal & Eduful, Alexander & Acheampong, Michael & Eduful, Joyce & Mazumder, Lubana, 2020. "The Illegal Artisanal and Small-scale mining (Galamsey) ‘Menace’ in Ghana: Is Military-Style Approach the Answer?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    22. Wireko-Gyebi, Rejoice Selorm & Asibey, Michael Osei & Baah-Ennumh, Theresa Yaaba, 2022. "Planning for the effective and sustainable management of Ghana’s artisanal small-scale gold mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    23. Bester, Vidette & Groenewald, Liela, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and artisanal mining: Towards a fresh South African perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    24. Hilson, Gavin & Maconachie, Roy, 2020. "For the Environment: An Assessment of Recent Military Intervention in Informal Gold Mining Communities in Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    25. Francis Xavier Dery Tuokuu & Uwafiokun Idemudia & Eugene B. G Bawelle & John Bosco Baguri Sumani, 2020. "Criminalization of “galamsey” and livelihoods in Ghana: Limits and consequences," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(1), pages 52-65, February.

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