Ghana cannot make any meaningful progress in the fight against illegal mining, widely known as galamsey, if the country fails to separate formalization efforts from partisan politics.
This is the position of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, which laments that partisan politics have killed every serious attempt to address the menace sustainably.
Speaking during an interaction with fellows of the Africa Extractives Media Fellowship (AEMF), the President of the Chamber, who is also Vice President of Gold Fields’ West Africa Region, Michael Edem Akafia, said the problem is no longer limited to environmental damage but has become a direct security and economic threat to legally established mining companies.
When Legal Concessions Become Targets
Michael Edem Akafia reveals that established mining companies are increasingly coming under attack because they have already done the “hard work” of exploration, drilling, and proving mineral reserves.
These Illegal miners, he explains, see the work done by the mining companies in establishing reserves, and hence want to forcefully take over those concessions. He likens the situation to someone who doesn’t work but wants to eat, explaining that once companies invest millions to establish viable reserves, illegal miners move in to take over concessions they did not develop.
He cited incidents involving AngloGold Ashanti and noted that several concessions, such as Apinto and Mantrebe shafts, have repeatedly come under pressure, despite companies paying all required fees and holding valid licenses.
One of the most worrying cases, he revealed, is Asanko Gold’s Tontokrom site, which has reportedly been taken over by illegal miners, including foreign nationals believed to be from Burkina Faso.
“Asanko is still paying for the concession, but illegal miners have occupied it,” he said, describing the situation as both unfair and dangerous.
Why Formalisation Keeps Failing
While acknowledging that formalisation remains one of the most effective global tools for dealing with illegal mining, a view also supported by the World Bank, the Chamber President said Ghana’s experience has been undermined by political interference.
Using the Obuasi mine invasion as an example, he explained how concession relinquishments became politicised after changes in government, with access to mining areas shifting along party lines.
He mentions that once power changes, the beneficiaries change, and this is what destroys trust and kills formalisation.
According to him, when communities perceive mining opportunities as political rewards, illegal mining becomes entrenched rather than eliminated.
“The politics is what kills the attempts at formalisation. But otherwise, it’s one of the ways to address it. But one of the more potent ways to address it is formalization. Other jurisdictions have done it,” he noted.
A Politics-Free Model
The Chamber of Mines believes that the solution lies in a formalisation framework deliberately insulated from political control, where community mining cooperatives are structured transparently, legally, and responsibly.
He pointed to Newmont’s experience as a promising example, where the company worked directly with host communities to agree on mining arrangements without political interference.
In that model, designated areas are identified, central processing facilities are introduced, and mining is kept away from forest reserves and sensitive zones, all while complying with the law.
“They’ve identified an area where they’ll bring a central processing unit, which will then ensure that they don’t do it near forest reserves in a responsible way, in accordance with the law. All of us are also looking at, we’re at various stages of looking at ways of addressing it in this way.
Industry Ready to Act
The Chamber, he said, is now prepared to commit resources and technical expertise to help the government design a formalisation framework that works. A formalization that removes partisan influence and focuses on sustainability, safety, and legality.
Mining companies, he added, are at different stages of developing similar solutions, united by a shared interest in protecting concessions, communities, and long-term national value.
“Responsible Miners, like us, the chamber, is committing resources to work hopefully with the government to come out and fashion this cooperative. We send an input to the government in a way that does away with the politics and the things that impede the successful realisation of the attempt at formalisation,” Edem Akafia noted.
He added, “Newmont has done some work in that regard and progressed very far. And thankfully, their community has aligned, and they’ve agreed that they won’t let politicians come and spoil it for them.”
The Bottomline
Chamber of Mines maintains that the current issue is not about whether solutions exist, but whether Ghana has the political discipline to let them work.
For them, if formalisation is done right, without politics, it can work. As illegal mining continues to threaten investments, communities, and national revenue, the Chamber insists that the fight will be lost unless formalisation is treated as a national development tool, not a political prize.
