ARTISANAL MINING (GALAMSEY) – AN OPPORTUNITY OR A PROBLEM?

THE GALAMSEY

'We don't know there are rather challenges and not problems. We don't even know opportunities abound in challenges, and we certainly don't also know how to unearth these opportunities to inure to our benefit.' This is a classic sign of mediocrity.

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), which is referred to in the Ghanaian parlance as 'GALAMSEY', is a practice dating back to pre-historic days.

ASM often involves the art of teasing gold from the earth through washing it out of the soils and gravels where it is found. This practice could also be referred to as placer mining, where gold is found in unconsolidated deposits in sand and gravels at locations where the Large Scale Mining (LSM) companies usually do not buy concessions.

ASM contributed nine percent of total gold production in 2000. This had risen to 23 percent by 2010, with over a million Ghanaians directly dependent on it for their livelihood.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining are livelihood activities with significant poverty reduction potential in developing countries like Ghana. Admittedly though, this potential is undermined by many factors; the most relevant being the human-health and environmental consequences of the uncontrolled use of mercury for gold extraction in these forms of mining. What is more, mercury-intensive artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations also impact negatively by extension, on other economic sectors.

But these are the very reasons why we must as a country; see the need to regularize the activities of ASM. For me, the legalization and formalization of small-scale gold miners would be a good first step to address the many health, social, and environmental problems the sector faces.

What I think we lack in this country is 'POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE (PMA).' Elsewhere, challenges are seen as opportunities and are turned around to inure to the benefits of the citizenry. But over here in Ghana, we always see only problems and therefore are very quick to choose the easiest options of suppression, brutalization, seizure of, and burning of equipment, detentions etc. to solve them.

Government and its developmental agencies (so-called) are already prejudiced about the 'galamsey' business, and therefore see ASM mainly as a problem rather than opportunity. This kind of stereotyping prevents officialdom from recognizing the positive sides of the 'galamsey business, and are therefore unable to think through any creative processes that would mainstream this productive business into the mining sector. What the state is unfortunately failing to realize is that, incorporating ASM into the mining sector could even become a huge employment area for country and invariably government. In fact, if the proper reformation to ASM is done, it could become a major source of sustainable livelihoods for millions of the underprivileged.

Politicians must therefore begin to think outside the box; and even on their feet, to fashion out real-creative methods of regulating the activities of ASM and even by extension, the Okada business - which is a subject for my next article. The government must change its mindset about ASM, and recognize it as both highly productive and as a legitimate part of the mining sector.

Our leaders and their development partners have historically given little or no attention to the sector and, instead they focus on large-scale mining (LSM).

We have a fixation on LSM which doesn't benefit Ghana any substantially. It employs fewer people and after paying dividends of some 5% or so to the Government, everything else is transferred to the home countries of these expatriates. But ASM when properly regularized, will reduce rural-urban migration to a large extent - thus preventing the growth of huge shantytowns around the large cities, and will increase consumption as well. This is because virtually all the money earned by local small-scale gold miners will be spent in this country.

For these reasons, instead of suppressing their activities using brute force like we usually do, which often makes the situation rather worse, government must hold multi-stakeholder meetings with all the interested parties in the sector, to share knowledge on the activities of ASM, build trust and find innovative solutions to all the health, social and environmental problems often associated with 'galamsey' operations.

If we take land degradation for example; Fact is, 'Nothing is created or gotten out of nothing; and in the process of creating or getting something, one other thing must suffer destruction.' Throughout the history of humankind; we have destroyed in order to build or benefit. Eg: We build factories to produce our consumables; but the emissions from these same factories deplete the ozone layer, we have destroyed certain species of plants in order to plant some others we consider as food, we have degraded the environment in order to put up infrastructure, trees are felled so we would get wood for furniture and construction. In fact, I could go on and on. After all, Genesis 1:26 states that; God has given man dominion over the earth and all in it. For how long are we going to behave like the Biblical man who due to lack of self-belief and lazy thinking, hid his talent in the earth, rather than multiply it Luke 19:24? It continues up to verse 29 and says: those who have will be given more, and those who don't have; even what they have will be taken and given to those who have. Are we then surprised our Gold, Diamond, Timber, Telecom and now Oil are all in the hands of the rich nations who have multiplied the talents God gave to them?

There must be cost-benefit analysis of every venture we undertake as a country, and that will give a clear indication of all the advantages and disadvantages there are to it. After all, there is always the possibility of reclamation, and therefore we must not be afraid to degrade to derive. There would always be degradation in the course of human activity. But the Action Plan, to reclaim / re-fix, must always be a prerequisite.

Government must therefore factor into the policy plan to regularize the activities of the 'galamsey' business; a levy to be imposed on them for reclamation of the lands they explore. These monies would be deposited in special accounts to be set up by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) under whose jurisdiction these miners operate. The funds would then be used to buy variety of species of seedlings to reclaim those lands which would have been degraded as a result of mining activities. This would even create employments for other people. Can't somebody realize this!

The next is the destruction of river bodies; For example, gold is dense and is easily separated. What this means is; as sand and gravel suspend in flowing water, gold will sink to the bottom and can even be removed by hand. Therefore from the easiest means of mining called panning, to the typical modern practice using grizzly; gold is separated from gravels and sand through the use of water.

The MMDAs could therefore build mechanized bole-holes and large basins into which water from these bole-holes would flow for use by the gold miners, rather than use water from river bodies for that process. The artisans would then be charged on the basis of pay-as-you-use. These would also serve as a source of revenue even for the Assemblies.

There are also companies that provide the most advanced green-based gold mining equipment that have been developed for the new age of eco-friendly gold mining. These technologies, some of which have solar water panel compartment, have the ability to even pump water. Therefore rather than wash the sand and gravels directly in the rivers by blocking them, a dam could be created by using these machines to pump water from the river bodies for the purposes of separation through washing. The dirty water after washing is then re-directed away from the river, or even recycled for use again. These technologies are designed to help in the elimination of mercury amalgamation gold extraction process used primarily by small-scale gold mining operators. Some of the equipment are also capable of processing gold up to 1.1 tons per hour, and can capture gold as small as 5 microns. The interesting thing is that, most of this equipment are mobile and can process gold right at the extraction point.

This is another area government through LESDEP or MASLOC, could partner with the miners to acquire, and given time to pay back.

The MMDAs can then proceed to promulgate by-laws that make it unlawful to mine in and around river bodies.

The final challenge that must be tackled with a sense of urgency - going forward, is the process of acquiring license. The licensing process is lengthy, bureaucratic, and unnecessarily complex. As a result, only wealthy and powerful people are able to obtain mining titles, while poor people in the hinterlands that need them the most because of poverty, are unable to obtain licenses to operate. Meanwhile, ASM offers jobs for millions of poor Ghanaians, who may not have any alternative income-generating options.

Ghanaians ardently seek opportunity and explore every avenue to it, and the least the government would do, is to supplement and not to suppress our ingenuity. It is the responsibility of politicians to be clever, original and inventive in the process of applying ideas to solve problems or meet challenges. It is also worthwhile to harness every brain in this country, from the trivial to the sublime, and even to Divination; in our quest to solving challenges that affect the totality of Ghanaians.

Our problem as a nation is; we don't want to think, and what is more; the deeper we get into trouble, the less we want to think.' So we will bless and follow anyone who gives us the justification for not thinking.

What I mean is, 'the book and dictatorship economics are too much.' It is time to be independent, practical, creative and most importantly ambitious in our thinking - going forward. We must stop being mediocre, and take seriously the creative process of thought, and apply it fully in our everyday thinking.

It is my fervent hope and prayer that as we keep talking about widening the tax net, officialdom will reconsiders its antipathy posture towards artisanal mining; and carefully coordinate and regulate their operations in order to maximize tax inflows.

Ghanaians must be supported to 'compete with competence, flourish in freedom and progress in peace.' We have what it takes to be amongst the Committee of Advanced Nations; we only have to be 'purposefully focused, and courageously ambitious' in our desire to doing some catching-up.

I must at this point however humbly submit that; I am doing all these analysis and providing suggestions as a lay person, and the purpose is only to help policymakers ensure small-scale mining helps improve living conditions, while taking care of the local environments.

GOD BLESS GHANA.
GAB NORGAH - GHANA SOCIETY OF THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED, NEW JUABEN-KOFORIDUA

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