After a 32% increase in gold output in the previous year, Ghana reclaimed its position as Africa's top producer of metal. The development was ascribed by the Ghana Chamber of Mines to a rise in output from both small- and large-scale mining.
But because of illicit gold mining, the nation is currently experiencing an environmental disaster. Illegal gold mining has severely harmed many of the nation's forests, rivers, and other bodies of water, raising substantial health issues in mining areas.
Small-scale illegal mineral extraction, often referred to as galamsey, which is derived from the phrase "gather and sell," has provided many young people in southern Ghana who are jobless with a means of subsistence.
If the present rate of environmental devastation is not slowed, the government and scientists have warned that Ghana may soon have to import drinking water. Due to the destruction of fields for unauthorized mining, the nation's cocoa industry is also seriously in danger. Without much success, the government had taken a military strategy and sent soldiers into mining regions.
Due to a steep decline in production, South Africa replaced Ghana as the leading producer of gold on the continent in 2021. According to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, the country's gold production increased dramatically from 2.8 million ounces the year before to 3.7 million ounces (105 tonnes) last year.
According to Joshua Mortoti, president of the chamber, the nation's output in both the large- and small-scale sectors increased at the same time in 2022.
The large-scale gold sub-sector, he said, has produced more gold than ever before in the history of the nation. According to Ben Aryee, special advisor to the minister for lands and natural resources, the government will continue to defend lawful mining operations in the nation against illicit activity.
“We will also continue to facilitate the formalization of small-scale mining, along with the associated alternative livelihood programs to resolve the poverty and unemployment challenges in the country,” he said.
More than 21 nations in Africa, the third-largest producer of gold in the world, are involved in gold mining, including Nigeria, Tanzania, and Mali.