Legal limits and deeper fault lines: a legal and systemic analysis of the persistence of illegal mining in Ghana

Abstract

This study examines the pervasive issue of illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining, known as galamsey, in Ghana, critically assessing the adequacy of the existing legal framework and proposing reforms to address enforcement, community engagement, and environmental remediation. Drawing on a comparative analysis of Ghana’s Minerals and Mining Act (2006) with Botswana and the Philippines' regulatory framework, alongside insights from field studies, it reveals systemic weaknesses, including bureaucratic licensing processes, state collusion through corruption, and over-reliance on militarized crackdowns like Operation Vanguard. These approaches criminalize low-income miners while failing to tackle root of illegal mining causes such as poverty, low employment rates, and lack of technical support for formalization. The study highlights galamsey’s socio-economic significance, employing over one million Ghanaians, and its environmental toll, notably water pollution and deforestation. Proposed reforms include simplifying licensing through decentralized systems, establishing community mining cooperatives to enhance local participation, and enforcing human rights principles for ecological restoration. By integrating lessons from successful models like the Philippines’ Minahang Bayan, the dissertation advocates for a shift from punitive measures to inclusive, sustainable policies that formalize ASM, empower rural communities, and align mining with national development goals. This research contributes to the discourse on resource governance by offering a balanced framework that mitigates galamsey’s harms while harnessing its economic potential, urging Ghana to redefine its approach to artisanal mining as a pathway to socio-economic transformation rather than a criminal menace.