The large footprint of small-scale artisanal gold mining in Ghana

Barenblitt, Abigail; Payton, Amanda; Lagomasino, David; Fatoyinbo, Lola; Asare, Kofi; Aidoo, Kenneth; Pigott, Hugo; Som, Charles Kofi; Smeets, Laurent; Seidu, Omar; Wood, Danielle

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146644

Cited by 57 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Socially, the natives are affected, and if they are not interested in joining the mining activity, they are forced to look for new locations involving less hostility. Similar situations have occurred in African and Asian countries [68][69][70][71].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

History, Socioeconomic Problems and Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining in the Andean Region of Ecuador

Mestanza-Ramón

Ordoñez-Alcivar²,

Arguello-Guadalupe

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Mining in Ecuadorian territory comprises three stages of Ecuadorian history: pre-Columbian, colonial, and republican times. In its beginnings, this activity did not have regulations or a legal foundation. The first Mining Law dates back to 1830, and it has been modified until the most recent update in 2009. The Andean region consists of 10 provinces, 9 of which have registered gold concessions, the most important of which are Loja, Azuay, and in recent years, Imbabura and Pichincha, which are the provinces with the highest number of reported concessions. The objective of this study focused on analyzing the historical and current situation of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASGM) and the emergence of large-scale (industrial) mining. For the elaboration of this study, different methodological techniques were used, such as literature review, field interviews, and expert judgment validation. The main findings show that the provinces of Loja, Azuay, Imbabura, and Pichincha are the most conflictive areas in the region due to the impacts caused by mining activities. In socio-economic terms, there are conflicts between inhabitants in favor and against these activities and problems associated with human health. In environmental terms, the findings suggest historical contamination of water sources by heavy metals, which has altered the surrounding aquatic and terrestrial systems. Finally, the study concludes that implementing public policies should be promoted to balance socio-economic and environmental aspects in gold mining activities in the Andean region of Ecuador, strengthening the use of new technologies and education to raise awareness of the serious effects of mining activities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

History, Socioeconomic Problems and Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining in the Andean Region of Ecuador

Mestanza-Ramón

Ordoñez-Alcivar²,

Arguello-Guadalupe

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…In Ghana, the advent of earth moving equipment in small-scale mining (legal or illegal) has increased surface water pollution throughout the country (CONIWAS 2011;Crawford et al 2015;Forkuor et al 2020). The majority of miners in Ghana work informally, without the security of a licence (Barenblitt et al 2021), partly due to challenges with securing land and a licence. This informality has led to a number of environmental and social problems in the country, particularly the pollution and destruction of water bodies, the degradation of farmlands and the negative health impacts of working in hazardous conditions (Barenblitt et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of surface waters and pollution impacts in Southern Ghana

et al. 2021

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Illegal mining and inappropriate use of agrochemicals have exacerbated surface water pollution in Ghana. The quality of water has changed, and knowledge of their current condition is important for formulating policies to conserve the country's water bodies. This study assessed the quality of surface waters in Ghana's Pra River Basin. A survey of 344 local farmers randomly sampled was conducted and a physicochemical analysis of 33 water samples collected from 25 rivers in the basin. Boreholes are the main source of drinking water for 85% of farmers, and they assessed water quality by its appearance. Rainwater provides over 50% of the water needed by the respondents for domestic use. River water was mainly used for crop production and only secondarily for domestic use. At more than 80% of the sampled sites, pH, Fe and P were above the WHO recommended values, while Pb was exceeded at 30% of the sites. Cu, Hg, As and Fe were above permissible levels for irrigation, especially near the mining areas. The poor quality of river water makes it unusable despite its availability. A more effective and efficient land-use policy focusing on buffer zone protection is recommended to minimise water quality degradation in the basin.

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“…For instance, it has been shown in a case study in Ghana that the Sentinel-2 Band 5 (band center 705 nm) was the highest contributor to a land cover classification and, more importantly, it contributed most to delineating mining sites [19]. Classification models can also use multi-band indexes as input data such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) [13,19,31]. However, note that NDVI is influenced by many environmental factors such as topography, bare soil conditions, atmospheric conditions, vegetation association, rainfall, and non-photosynthetic materials [50].…”

Section: Rs For Deforestation and Landcover Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examples of the use of RS on ASGM monitoring include the works of Barenblitt, et al [13]. Their study in Ghana found that between 2014 and 2017, approximately 47,000 ha (±2218 ha) of vegetation were destroyed by ASGM activities at an average rate of ~2600 ha yr −1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their study in Ghana found that between 2014 and 2017, approximately 47,000 ha (±2218 ha) of vegetation were destroyed by ASGM activities at an average rate of ~2600 ha yr −1 . The World Database of Protected Areas also used RS tools to map about 700 ha of protected areas that have been disturbed by ASGM activities in Latin America and Africa [13]. Other examples include the works of Bruno, et al [14], Isidro, et al [15], Ibrahim, et al [16], Lobo, et al [17], de Lucia Lobo, et al [18], Nyamekye, et al [19], and Telmer and Stapper [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Applications of Earth Observation Data for Monitoring Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Developing Countries

et al. 2022

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This paper discusses opportunities to use remote sensing (RS) technologies in addressing the persistent global challenges related to the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector. The paper uses a systematic literature review to identify, analyze, and synthesize various uses of RS on the detection and monitoring of ASGM activities across the globe. The study covers the use of spaceborne sensors and available opportunities for data access and processing and emphasizes the important role that freely-available data has played in understanding ASGM activities. It discusses applications and opportunities offered in assessing the geospatial and temporal characteristics of ASGM and its impacts on the surrounding environment. Furthermore, it examines different indicators for the detection of ASGM in the landscape. Finally, technological capabilities described in the study are illustrated with case studies in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Colombia using cloud computing with the Open Data Cube. The case studies demonstrate the identification and quantification of impacts of ASGM activities on land degradation and water turbidity in remote areas and results are dissiminated using the MapX platform. This facilitates policy development, implementation, and evaluation in the ASGM context.

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The large footprint of small-scale artisanal gold mining in Ghana

Cited by 57 publications

References 46 publications

History, Socioeconomic Problems and Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining in the Andean Region of Ecuador

History, Socioeconomic Problems and Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining in the Andean Region of Ecuador

Assessment of surface waters and pollution impacts in Southern Ghana

Assessing the Applications of Earth Observation Data for Monitoring Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Developing Countries

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