“I am thirty years old now, and ever since I completed my secondary education, I have been looking for a job to no avail. But for galamsey, I would still be unemployed. Now I am employed here and able to provide for my family’s needs… Galamsey is our saviour here.”
This quote from a 30-year-old miner in Ghana’s western region, published in an August 2016 article published in the Oxford Developmental Studies journal, reflects the reality for thousands of young people in the region, where unemployment has more than doubled in the past year.
Ghana, famously called the Gold Coast, is Africa’s leading gold producer and ranks among the top 10 gold-producing countries worldwide. The country, however, faces significant losses from illegal small-scale mining activities known as “galamsey”, which divert more than $2.3 billion annually in revenue and facilitate unlawful smuggling. With approximately one million Ghanaians involved in galamsey, it supports around 4.5 million people. In certain instances, these galamsey operations overshadow and displace officially recognised artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities.
For some, galamsey is less about greed and more about survival. Youth significantly contribute to the primary labour force behind galamsey, yet they suffer the most from its consequences – polluted rivers, abandoned pits, and fewer opportunities. To break this cycle, Ghana must address the root causes of youth unemployment beyond military crackdowns.
Mapping hotspots in Ghana’s western region points to galamsey being more than a mere sporadic activity in remote villages; it is a widespread and organised livelihood activity. In a February 2018 article published in the Heliyon journal on the spatial distribution pattern of galamsey operations in the Western Region (located in south Ghana), researchers reported 911 documented galamsey operations involving approximately 7,500 individuals across various regional districts.
The activity was predominantly concentrated in select districts: Tarkwa Nsuaem, with 294 sites and more than 3,600 participants; Amenfi East, with 223 sites and approximately 1,397 individuals; and Prestea-Huni Valley, with 156 sites and more than 1,100 participants. Together, they accounted for nearly two-thirds of all activity in the sample. Other districts, such as Amenfi Central and Wassa East, recorded smaller clusters, but the concentration in three localities was striking.
This spatial concentration suggests that galamsey is a significant source of employment in these areas, rather than a marginal activity conducted by opportunists. In regions with limited formal employment opportunities, the informal mining sector serves as a primary source of livelihood, providing income for unemployed youth and supporting households.
Statistical comparisons between unemployment rates and galamsey activity levels suggest a correlation between the high involvement of young people and limited economic alternatives, with activities concentrated in specific hotspots.
The concentration of galamsey operations in the Western Region cannot be understood without referencing the region’s unemployment crisis. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, the region recorded a 100.9% increase in unemployment between 2022 and 2023, the steepest rise in the country. Furthermore, of the seven regions that recorded year-on-year increases in male unemployment, the Western Region led by 111.1%, and 94.4% in female unemployment.
Overall, nearly 16% of the region’s population is unemployed, with the Western Region standing out with the highest year-on-year increase in unemployment in both rural (-53.9 %) and urban (-33.8 %) employment from 2022 Q3 to 2023 Q3. Youth bear the brunt, with 20.6% of those aged 15-24 in the country not in employment, education, or training.
The Journal of the African Alliance for Research Advocacy and Innovation, in its April/June 2025 issue, published a survey of 400 youth (18-35) from Ghana’s Western Region and Western North Region. Most respondents were aged 25-29 (42%), male (79.5%), and had a basic education (56.5%). Many were unemployed (40.8%) and used galamsey as their primary income source (66.3%), mainly due to a lack of jobs (44.5%). Others joined for quick money (27.8%), influenced by family (15.8%) or peers (12.0%). Nearly four in five respondents indicated they would leave mining if viable options like vocational training existed. Additionally, 54.5% had family in galamsey, with only 40.8% encouraged by their families to join.
These findings suggest that galamsey is closely tied to the structural absence of jobs for young people in the region. Without new pathways for employment, the lure of the pits will remain irresistible. The role of youth in galamsey is paradoxical. On one hand, they form a large share of participants; on the other, they are also the most exposed to its consequences. Many enter galamsey with limited education, which reduces their ability to transition into other livelihoods.
While galamsey provides short-term earnings, it also carries significant risks, including unsafe working conditions, accidents in unregulated pits, and long-term health effects from mercury exposure. Participation can also disrupt schooling or vocational training, reinforcing cycles of limited opportunity. Youth are also affected as residents of mining communities. Rivers polluted by mercury and silt reduce access to drinking water, while degraded farmland, stripped topsoil, deforestation, and unclaimed pits reduce agricultural potential. Notably, 18% of respondents cited agriculture as their preferred area of skills training, making it the third preferred skill.
Even those not directly engaged in mining inherit the environmental costs, with fewer options for secure livelihoods. Research in the Ankobra and Pra basins in south-western Ghana has highlighted severe environmental impacts associated with galamsey. The Ghana Water Company has recorded turbidity levels (how cloudy a water sample is due to suspended particles) as high as 14,000 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), far exceeding treatable thresholds of around 2,000-5,000 NTU. Peer-reviewed studies also find elevated mercury and lead levels in sediments and fish, raising concerns for community health and food security. Reports warn that water pollution from galamsey could lead to Ghana importing water by 2030.
Tensions between mining and farming livelihoods are acute in heavily affected districts. For young people, this creates a dilemma: mining provides immediate income but reduces the viability of land – and water-based livelihoods they might otherwise inherit. In this sense, young people are “double victims” of galamsey, compelled by unemployment to enter the mining industry yet forced to bear its environmental and social costs.
It is clear that many factors, such as economic needs and systemic issues, drive the galamsey crisis in Ghana. The environmental impact has been significant, including the destruction of over 100,000 acres of cocoa land, a 55% decline in cocoa production, and threats to forests and ecosystems, according to researcher Enoch Randy Aikins writing in an article published by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in September last year. Despite efforts since 1989, measures to address illegal mining have often fallen short, with underlying causes like corruption and a lack of transparency, political will, and accountability deterring efforts to do so.
Government responses have often focused on enforcement. For instance, in 2017, Operation Vanguard deployed military units to shut down pits and seize equipment. However, reports indicated that shortly after military interventions and operations, many illegal miners returned to the sites, as early as the following day. Operation Vanguard confiscated hundreds of excavators and water pumps, but many later went missing, raising concerns about corruption and elite capture.
Ghana’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) was established in 2018 to coordinate reforms but was dissolved in 2021 amid bribery allegations and policy inconsistencies. In 2019, the government banned small-scale mining and replaced it with the Community Mining Scheme to regulate artisanal mining. This year, however, Ghana’s current government suspended the scheme. At a press conference to announce the suspension of Ghana’s minister of lands and natural resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Bual said the CMS, introduced by the previous administration, was no different to illegal mining and pledged that the government would restructure the scheme into cooperatives with stronger controls.
The history of unsuccessful military crackdowns and failed policies suggests that addressing the root causes of galamsey requires a more comprehensive effort, targeting systemic issues, rather than focusing solely on surface-level consequences. This requires genuine political commitment and comprehensive strategies beyond land reclamation, including social and economic dimensions.
It is important to address the cycle of illegal mining passed down through generations, emphasising the need for sustainable solutions that support the youth, who are driven to galamsey in the absence of other employment opportunities, and preserve the environment for future generations. Without this change, the pits in the western region will remain both a livelihood and a trap for future generations.
Owami Tshuma
Owami is a junior data analyst intern in the Governance Insights and Analytics programme at Good Governance Africa. She is completing a Master’s degree in e-Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, building on a foundation in International Relations and Political Science. Her research interests focus on political economy with a particular focus on development and elections. She is especially interested in the intersection of governance, economic development, and institutional quality.
