Galamsey Is Now Threatening Ghana’s Power Supply

Illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, has already severely damaged Ghana’s forests and rivers. Now it threatens the country’s energy security, with polluted water bodies and harmed community livelihoods reported across the nation [1]. The practice often involves dangerous extraction methods and causes serious environmental damage, including polluted waterways and deforestation [2]. Ghana’s Forestry Commission has arrested 20 suspected illegal miners in a surprise operation at the Subri Forest Reserve, at Essaman in the Wassa East District of the Western Region [3]. Across Africa, illegal gold mining is growing, and so is the smuggling that follows it; each year billions of dollars in gold leave the continent through unofficial channels, fueling crime and depriving governments of tax money, while the biggest profits flow to international buyers and refiners who ask few questions [4]. In Ivory Coast, authorities are cracking down on illegal mining over pollution fears, though some young people say the activity remains one of their few sources of income [5].